Practical Health and Safety solutions delivered by seasoned professionals

Do you store flammable liquids in your workplace?

Flammable liquid cabinet

Being in the refinish business, the chances are that you store flammable liquids in your workplace. Flammable liquids are a class of Dangerous Goods. Under the model Work, Health & Safety (WHS) Regulations, they are also referred to as Hazardous Chemicals. As an owner, director or manager of a business, you have a number of […]

Risk assessments simplified

Some people think that a risk assessment is a complicated process, requires pages and pages of paperwork and demands a significant time investment… but it doesn’t have to be that way. What is a risk assessment? A risk assessment is a tool used to methodically identify situations and activities that may cause injury or illness […]

Noise in your workplace

Noise in your workplace

Noise induced hearing loss in Australian workplaces represents a serious, but avoidable health issue.Between July 2002 and June 2007 there were about 16,500 successful workers’ compensation claims for industrial deafness involving permanent impairment due to noise. Between 2007-08, it amounted to $41 million in workers’ compensation payments and had an estimated total economic cost of […]

An Inspector is at my door

If you haven’t already been visited by a WorkSafe or WorkCover Inspector, there is a strong likelihood that it will happen sometime in the future. The inspections are random, but campaigns may focus on specific industries, risk areas and/or suburbs. What are Inspectors looking for? When conducting random inspections, an Inspector’s primary functions are to […]

BodyShop News article – Spontaneous Combustion

You may or may not know that the rags or cloths you use to wipe down your hands, apply Prepsol or clean up spills can actually spontaneously combust. What it spontaneous combustion you ask? The Oxford dictionary defines spontaneous combustion as “The ignition of organic matter without apparent cause, typically through heat generated internally by rapid oxidation”.Basically, given the right conditions, when a flammable or combustible […]

What you need to know about respiratory protective equipment

Spray painter repairing car

Respiratory protective equipment (RPE) also commonly referred to as respirators, can be an effective way to minimise the exposure of employees to airborne contaminants such as dusts, fumes and vapours. This article is aimed at providing general information with regard to RPE. It is important to note that, it does not cover every aspect of […]