Author Curreen

The new scheme, launched by Construction Health & Safety New Zealand, provides a uniform and easy-to-use framework for supplier health and safety pre-qualification Before Tōtika, suppliers had to pre-qualify against a variety of different schemes and standards, taking a considerable amount of time for suppliers, reducing the number tender bids received by clients and creating inefficiency in the supply chain. Continue →

You can have the best health and safety policies in the world – but unless staff actually use them, they won’t do much good This was the problem facing Steve Wilson, General Manager of Lower Hutt commercial signage company, Sign Foundry. Continue →

The DHB has called in external help and says it refuses to pay any ransom demanded while clinical services are left scrambling Hackers of Waikato District Health Board (DHB) are believed to have gained access to their systems via an email attachment opened by a staff member. Continue →

How widening the net, in search of diverse talent, is key to sustaining the industry One of the biggest challenges facing the construction industry is the shortage of people and skills throughout the sector. Continue →

If everything is running smoothly and ‘as expected’ at an automated plant, a system operations team may feel redundant, but a look below the surface tells quite a different story, says Swisslog Australia Maintenance Manager, Paul Woodward Achieving a state where everything is running smoothly is due to the hard work of not just the system operations team, but also teams of technicians and maintenance staff, from both the automation provider, and the client. Continue →

If your organisation is serious about safety, you need to be having regular ‘toolbox talks’ with your team Unlike an official safety meeting or training session, a toolbox talk is a shorter, more informal discussion, with a goal to support and reinforce your overall safety program by focusing on a specific safety issue with each talk. Continue →

New Zealand’s construction boom means contractors are busier than ever, but throw in the demands of tax time, and running a small business in the construction sector quickly becomes a juggling act, says Fergus job management software founder Dan Pollard While the end of the financial year can add to your workload, it is also an opportunity to get a detailed picture of your business and put healthy financial habits in place that will save you from repeating mistakes in the future. Continue →

Recent changes to privacy legislation have implications for contractors, who often collect and store people’s personal information, for example on site sign-in registers, Civil Contractors New Zealand explains In December 2020 an updated Privacy Act came into being. Continue →

Five excavator tip-overs in the last 18 months highlights the serious health and safety risks involved when operating heavy equipment In the last 18 months, WorkSafe have been notified of five excavator tip-overs on mine sites. Continue →