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Kia ora koutou and welcome to the latest edition of Kanohi Kitea, our health and safety representatives (HSR) e-newsletter.
In June's edition, we covered risk identification, assessment and management; a case study on near misses and the benefits of reporting them; and a spotlight on an HSR from Auckland Council.
This month we’ll cover:
- Latest version of the Hiki cards
- New asbestos guidance
- Clarification on near misses
- Worker participation agreements
- Upcoming HASANZ conference
If you have any questions, contact our HSR Support team at HSRsupport@worksafe.govt.nz
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We are excited to share the updated version of the Hiki cards.
If you haven’t heard of this resource before, the cards can help you decide which parts of the HSR role are useful for you and will help you have conversations with your manager on how they can support you.
As you grow into your role as an HSR, it will change as you see fit, and you will continuously learn more about how you can represent your work group.
We recognise that being an HSR is a voluntary workplace role, and sometimes you may not have the time you need to dedicate to it.
These cards are for HSRs, to be used as a part of HSR training and can also be used as a conversation starter or prompt for conversations with your manager.
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WorkSafe has partnered with the industry to update its asbestos guidance so it’s easier to manage and work with asbestos.
Knowing how to protect yourself and others is important if managing asbestos is part of your work, or if you’re carrying out renovations or repairs on your property.
The guides provided targeted asbestos information for specific audiences instead of a one-size-fits-all guidance document. They contain a mix of new and updated information, and information that’s still relevant from existing guidance including the Approved Code of Practice (ACOP).
The first set of guides – for homeowners, commercial and residential landlords, and businesses that come across asbestos – are available on the WorkSafe website.
Further guides specifically for surveyors, removalists, assessors, and tradies are currently in development and are planned for release in 2025/26.
The ACOP remains in place until all asbestos guidance have been updated. In the meantime, please refer to both the ACOP and updated guidance to ensure you’re applying best practice when working with or near asbestos.
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Near miss clarification
Thank you to those, including our inspectors, who highlighted the error in the near miss case study in the June issue of Kanohi Kitea.
The example we chose was a near miss, however it was also a notifiable event as outlined in Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (HSWA) Section 25. This section requires the event to be:
- recorded (HSWA Section 57)
- notified to WorkSafe (HSWA Section 56)
- the PCBU with management or control over the workplace would have a duty to preserve site until authorised by an inspector (HSWA Section 55).
Our intention was to emphasise the crucial role of workers, including HSRs, in making the PCBU aware of any injury, illnesses, incidents whether they meet the legislative requirement of a notifiable event or not. The reporting of these events to the PCBU by workers is important to ensure that risks are being adequately controlled and similar occurrences are prevented.
This is a different role than the duty HSWA puts on PCBUs to notify and preserve sites following a notifiable event (HSWA Section 25) as noted above.
In the scenarios below workers, including HSRs, should make the PCBU aware of all these events and incidents. Some of these are also notifiable events and HSWA places requirements on the PCBU to notify and preserve sites with regard to notifiable events.
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Case study
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Work is taking place on the upper levels of a multi-story building that is under construction. On these upper levels the lighting is poor and floor penetrations are exposed.
Scenario 1
A worker had not noticed the exposed floor penetration. He was physically stopped from falling through by a fellow worker walking alongside him who had seen it was left uncovered. This was a near miss because workers were exposed to a risk of serious injury or death which was not realised. Reporting this near miss to the PCBU is important to ensure that risks are being adequately controlled and similar occurrences are prevented. This was a not a notifiable event as outlined in (HSWA Section 25) and the PCBU was not required to notify WorkSafe (HSWA Section 56).
Scenario 2
The worker did not notice the risk and has fallen through the floor penetration, suffering serious head injury which required immediate treatment (other than first aid). This has met the criteria of a notifiable event and the PCBU is required under HSWA to record, notify and preserve the site (HSWA Sections 55, 56 & 57).
Scenario 3
Workers on the level below the floor penetration were narrowly missed by an unplanned and uncontrolled falling piece of equipment which could have caused a serious risk to their health and safety. This has met the criteria of a notifiable event and the PCBU is required under HSWA to record, notify and preserve the site (HSWA Sections 55, 56 & 57).
HSWA places duties on PCBUs regarding notifiable events including to notify WorkSafe as soon as possible after becoming aware of it (HSWA Section 55).
We recommend that workers report all injuries, incidents, near misses to the PCBU whether notifiable events under HSWA or not and we recommend the PCBU uses this to aid understanding of the risks involved in the work being carried out and the effectiveness of the controls in place with a view to improving those controls to prevent the event happening again.
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Government Health and Safety Lead, in collaboration with PSA and NZISM, have created a worker participation agreement (WPA) guide to support workers just like you to help manage health and safety in the workplace.
The guide intends to provide key principles which your workplace can consider when developing WPAs.
WPAs can support worker engagement, participation and representation (WEPR), which is key to understanding workers health and safety concerns.
WPAs are not a requirement under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, however, organisations and businesses need to include WEPR into their health and safety, and a WPA can assist with that.
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The Health and Safety Association New Zealand (HASANZ) extends a warm invitation to you for the 2024 HASANZ Conference at the Tākina Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wellington from 18 to 20 September 2024.
This year's theme 'Collaboration, Competence, Champion' provides a platform for health and safety professionals to engage with one another and explore the latest industry developments. The conference aims to foster collaboration on advancements and innovations in the health and safety sector.
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