Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) stories
Thousands of New Zealand construction workers face redundancy within months unless sites can reopen safely and government support is stepped up.
Health and hygiene measures are likely to become permanent fixtures as the COVID-19 outbreak pushes employers to rethink office design and indoor air quality.
Risk-averse directors could face personal liability as Worksafe New Zealand weighs tougher action after a worker was left quadriplegic.
Construction workers can now renew safety cards with updated training on heights, machinery blind spots and dust risks under Site Safe's refresh.
Safer tools, stronger supervision and brief stretching routines can reduce costly cuts, crushes and punctures for workers on the job.
A subcontractor's 3.5-metre fall has prompted almost GBP £200,000 in safety upgrades, payments and donations from two firms.
Digital monitoring, AI and online platforms are heightening stress, blurring boundaries and complicating safety rules for workers, experts warn.
Employers in Australia and New Zealand are being urged to tighten protections, after studies linked welding fume to a 43% higher lung cancer risk.
Fire crews can now practise dangerous bushfire scenarios more safely and cheaply, without toxic foam or live flames, using virtual reality.
Poor training and weak workplace procedures can leave employees exposed to avoidable injuries, from unsafe machinery to missed breaks and hazards.
Regular safety audits are helping construction firms lift compliance, with Site Safe warning many still lag on new hazard rules and reporting.
A North Island firm has been fined and ordered to pay reparation after an untrained worker was left paralysed in a boom lift fall.
Cold conditions can dull judgement and strength, raising the risk of injuries unless crews warm up, layer up and take breaks.
WorkSafe says the case shows enforceable undertakings can fund reparation, training and industry changes after a worker lost an eye in 2016.
Nearly 80,000 workers die each year in the EU from carcinogen exposure, much of it preventable with better controls and training.
Construction workers face a hidden lung-disease threat as poor dust controls and weak monitoring leave many exposed to silica and wood dust.
Poor ventilation and missing protective gear left workers exposed to solvent vapours that can cause unconsciousness and death in minutes.
Workplaces that rely on a single dust reading or PPE could miss airborne hazards, WorkSafe New Zealand warns, risking worker illness.
Safety failures exposed in two separate incidents that left one worker dead and another badly injured, WorkSafe said.
Nearly 550 farmers were injured and three died on farms last summer, with vehicles and sun exposure among the biggest dangers.