Lockdowns and alert level restrictions have put the squeeze on many small businesses – Prospa offers some advice that could help In such uncertain times, many small business owners are already working hard to do what they can to protect their cash flow, their businesses, their staff and themselves. Continue →

With many small businesses scaled back or closed entirely due to Covid restrictions, savvy business owners reveal their first-hand tips for how they’re using this time to position their business for the future   Do things you’ve never had the time for… until now For Laura Heynike of Pocketspace Interiors, the lockdown and product supply interruptions could have been debilitating, particularly when the loss of income turned out to be more than double what she had expected. Continue →

The return to work under Alert Level 3 saw thousands of construction businesses breathe a sigh of relief, made possible by assurance to the government that the industry was able to do so safely by following the Covid-19 construction protocols The first lockdown last year saw vertical and commercial businesses in the construction industry combine to form a steering group, with Site Safe playing a key role, to develop the Covid-19 construction protocols. Continue →

The Victorian government has announced a two-week shutdown of the construction industry after a protest against mandatory vaccines for workers in the sector became violent The Guardian newspaper says the closure across metropolitan Melbourne, Geelong, the Surf Coast, Ballarat and Mitchell Shire was decided on Monday night after the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) building was damaged and riot police deployed in chaotic scenes in central Melbourne. Continue →

Another wave of cyber attacks has hit our banks, MetService and even the postal service – but critical services such as energy and water supply could be next, warns Vectra APJ Director of Security Engineering, Chris Fisher Cyber-attacks in New Zealand have increasingly grown in sophistication and prevalence, in part due to increased digitalisation but also wider geopolitical changes and disruptions caused by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Continue →

Civil Contractors New Zealand answers some of the important questions companies in the construction industry are asking Want to know about priority access to vaccines for essential workers? Continue →

It is a PCBU’s duty to ensure the health and safety of workers, including when they work remotely, WorkSafe warns Since the Covid pandemic, it has become more common for people to work from home. Continue →

Almost half of the complaints actioned by WorkSafe were allegations of businesses opening when they potentially should not have been under Covid-19 Alert Level restrictions By the morning of Friday 3 September, WorkSafe inspectors had completed 508 COVID-19 remote assessments.  Continue →

More businesses are taking a harder line on vaccine mandates, but doing so could come at a cost When Delta Air Lines week announced it would tack on a US$200 monthly surcharge for employees refusing to get vaccinated against Covid-19, the news sent ripples across the business world. Continue →

The Covid-19 Delta variant is more infectious than previous strains – therefore, some additional controls for businesses are now required At Alert Level 3, work should be done remotely where possible. Continue →

Once lockdown restrictions finally ease and businesses are able to re-open, they will have seven days to take steps ensuring all visitors comply with mandatory scanning and record keeping, the University of Auckland’s Dr Andrew Chen explains Contact tracing is a key epidemiological tool that helps us identify the right people who need to isolate or get tested. Continue →

The Government is urging Kiwi organisations to tighten up the way they enable remote working for staff to avoid the growing risk of cyber attacks Government cyber security agency, CERT NZ says the majority of ransomware attacks occur through poorly configured remote access systems, which businesses use to allow staff to access systems from outside the office. Continue →

Building and construction work that meets the Government definition of an essential service can continue under COVID-19 restrictions, following CHASNZ’s latest health and safety guidance COVID-19 Alert Level 4 is restricted to essential services only.  Continue →

Otago forestry workers are using new radio technology to manage 23,730 hectares of forest more safely, even enabling them to perform under Covid-19 restrictions Initially deployed to replace an outdated analogue radio network, the system delivers many additional benefits for forestry company, City Forests. Continue →

Many of New Zealand’s biggest industries have high fatality rates – in some ways these industries need to be treated like the ‘frontline’ in much the same way as our armed forces While most of us rarely give much thought to workplace deaths in New Zealand until they hit the headlines, closely examining the data for the past 10 years is a sobering exercise. Continue →

If people fail to comply with WorkSafe inspectors, they run the risk of facing legal enforcement action WorkSafe New Zealand are reminding people that they are obligated to comply with WorkSafe inspectors exercising their compliance powers under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015. Continue →

Diesel is an organic compound, and like a slice of bread, it can go mouldy, which can pose some serious safety risks, says David Armitage from Conidia Bioscience Mould, a form of fungus, yeasts and bacteria can grow in fuel over time. Continue →

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 →