• The heat is on – advice for keeping workers safe in extreme temperatures
• Keep fatigue out of the workplace
• New guidance for SMEs about keeping workers healthy 
• Hazardous substances - keeping up with last year's changes 
• Calling all businesses who want workers to reap the health benefits of good work
• Protect construction workers from health hazards 
• Our CEO Nicole Rosie discusses keeping workers healthy and safe
• Media release - companies must learn from their mistakes
• Asbestos training reminder
• SafePlus launches onsite assessment and advisory service

It’s been a long, hot summer so far. Employers have a legal obligation under the Health and Safety at Work Act to identify risk in the workplace and mitigate that risk appropriately. 

Managing work in extreme temperatures has been a workplace health and safety consideration for many decades already.

Check out our website for the latest news on temperature in the workplace. 

The summer holidays are well and truly over with many people back at work and families getting into the swing of the new school term as well. Getting back into work routines may require some adjustment – both physically and mentally. It’s a good time to remember to look after yourself and keep getting enough sleep as the likelihood of a work-related incident can be higher if you are fatigued.

Fatigue is more than just being tired; it is a state of physical and/or mental exhaustion which can seriously impact our ability to function safely. This is a common issue for many people. 

To work safely, workers should be physically and mentally alert. Businesses and workers both have a responsibility to manage the risks of fatigue at work. Our updated fatigue quick guide has information for businesses and workers to explain their respective responsibilities to manage fatigue.

You can also check out our website for our latest media release on fatigue.

The health of your workers is just as important as the health of your business. As a business owner, you have a duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act to prevent harm to your workers’ health. 

Healthy workers is a guide for small business owners on how to manage health risks in the workplace. The guide includes examples of how you can follow the Plan-Do-Check-Act process to identify, assess and manage common health risks, such as fatigue, noise, and sun exposure. Take a look at our new guide for small businesses and see how you can improve the way you manage health risks.

To help businesses comply with the new hazardous substances regulations which came into force on 1 December last year, four new videos are available on the hazardous substances toolbox website.

Another useful resource which has been added to the toolbox is the emergency management flipchart. 

We also have a range of useful hazardous substances material on our website. 

Do you want your business to maximise worker access to the health and business benefits of good work? You can be part of an industry group which does that through collaboration with Government and industry leaders to influence public policy and workplace practices.

The New Zealand Health Benefits of Good Work (HBGW) is an initiative from the Australian Faculty of Occupational and Environmental Medicine of the Royal Australian College of Physicians (RACP).

It is based on compelling international evidence that good work is beneficial to worker’s health and wellbeing and that long-term absence, work disability and unemployment can have a negative impact on health and wellbeing. 

The HBGW’s Signatories’ Steering Group (SSG) is its industry arm. It is made up of people representing organisations that are signatories to the HBGW’s Consensus Statement, which outlines principles to improve health and wellbeing through good work. 

Over the past two years, the SSG in New Zealand has engaged with stakeholders including researchers, unions and employer groups to increase its membership and influence. The SSG also presents opportunities for informed dialogue and collaboration with like-minded businesses.

If there is interest in your organisation to sign up to the Consensus Statement and become part of the SSG, email racp@racp.org.nz or phone 04 472 6713.

More information is available on the RACP website.

• dust – silica and asbestos 
• vibration exposure
• noise exposure

Over the summer break our CEO Nicole Rosie was busy spreading the word about keeping workers healthy and safe.

Check out the interview on the Radio New Zealand website. 

Businesses must learn from their health and safety mistakes and ensure changes are effective and address the risks in the workplace. A company was sentenced just a few years after they were fined for a similar health and safety breach.  

SafePlus, the new Government developed and endorsed health and safety toolkit, is now available to all New Zealand businesses, and is set to help lift the health and safety performance in workplaces across the country.

SafePlus currently consists of three products: Resources and Guidance, the market delivered Onsite Assessment and Advisory Service and the Online Self-Assessment tool. 

You can find out more about the SafePlus toolkit on our website.