eCentral Business Show^©

Why is workplace safety such a big deal with Wayne Bramwell - Part 2

Tue 5:33pm 24 Oct 2017
Podcast Audio


With more information on hand about Workplace safety being a big deal, we continue to talk with Wayne Bramwell from Bramwell and partners.

Video Transcript :
Why is workplace safety such a big deal is the subject of today's eCentral business show, I'm John Nayler joined by Wayne Bramwell. Again thank you very much for coming I don't think you've moved at all since the last episode why slept okay well we definitely put your photo on solid this table now has how things changed over the years why do is unless people dying well yes there are less people dying yeah and and it's really the years we've we've changed what's acceptable yeah if you if you think back to there's fairly famous pictures of people sitting on girders on 30 stories up with all this yes okay there's classic sort of us posters stuff yeah no harnesses swimming swinging sledgehammers into rivets you know those sorts of things that was acceptable back then and it was acceptable for people to dock unfortunately in the construction industry you have a bridge for instance had sort of the other they it was only 16 people died on the Sydney Harbour Bridge was the actual statement when you google it was what that was actually not many what did they fall off or something some fill up some from other different risks that are involved in the industry no actually there's all my footings and all that yeah there's there's a multitude that already building a lot ridges me yeah okay so you know yes there was there was 16 people died on that building that one construction in Australia now year to date in September they were still a hundred sixty people died in Australia whilst at work who didn't go home from work you know that's it's a bit somber it's a bit sobering isn't it wait as Australians all were actually with the whole world we don't well at least in Australia we don't really accept injury death it's yeah amongst and that has populist about amongst their family amongst their workplace yeah and that's where the the government has brought in workplace Health and Safety Act because it's not acceptable for people to die at work hmm so they're put responsibilities on anybody that runs a business yes or an undertaking that they have responsibilities on keeping people safe and going home at the end of day in the same way that they came because now the acceptable practice of people dying in their workplace like it was 30 years ago isn't we've grown up and realized that that's not okay yeah so yeah people say yeah that it costs so much more to make things yeah how much is a death worth hmm in really dollars I wouldn't like to put a figure on it no that's right no well they see in this so well actually there's they turn around it does become a figure doesn't it because of the litigation and those sorts of things so I guess that's where grow more partners come in because you look after compliance so that in the worst case scenario you know business owners become you know have a layer of protection you know that's that's correct yeah they have a they do certainly have a layer of responsibility and what what business owners effectively need is some advice around where the risks lie for them hmm and what they can do about reducing those risks and ensuring that they are compliant with that Act the Act is one thing and actually keeping people safe at work is the second thing mmm-hmm yeah what people PB sorry but keeping their workers employees safe it's actually also more productive and more beneficial more profitable for their business yeah any incident is actually going to cost you dollars as well no and that sort of leads up is you know there's got to be some sort of inquiry time or what else is in there what you're gonna have work cover costs okay they're gonna you're gonna have the potential of downtime yes you don't have that qualified worker at work in the first place you're going to have management involved in the in the investigation of what actually happened if it's a very serious innocent fatality we've seen examples of effectively branches and businesses becoming not profitable for 2-3 years because there's such an effect on everybody in the business okay that what could I have done to prevent that hmm and so every people coming to grips with something that's us such a bad thing in their business it can literally grow on a business yeah yeah I sort of get that is it if you sort of look upon your employees and the what people you work with or any clients and the people in their surrounding environment if there are members of your family you wouldn't want to see them injured or that's wrong killed because there's some some sort of act of the business yeah they're gonna come down there yeah and that's where the air client base is predominantly family family owned and operated businesses okay most family owned and operated businesses highly I have a high number of about family friends and relatives working in those businesses at will so the people that are working for them our family yeah they're not like family they actually are their members yeah and then there's people that I've you often hear in like guys family he's family yeah yeah well okay yeah what are those sorts of things are very well a partner do let's get down on because we're five minutes into this segment sure so one of those supposed to think that branwall partners do for business wealth in summary yeah what we first all do for our clients for our potential answers we'll go in and do a compliance assessment we'll look and see what they have in place near mmm and see whether that would make them compliant with the workplace Health and Safety Act okay around areas for instance like hazard identification and risk assessment are they actually identifying any risks in their business hmm what they're doing are they are they looking at the training of their staff are their staff actually hold all the correct tickets in the first place mm-hmm they qualified to do their job they're doing yeah if they have the tickets are they actually competent in using that equipment mmm that's again I have an e WP ticket to be able operate an elevated work platform I would hate to see me operate an elevated work platform just because I have a ticket doesn't mean I'm confident in using it okay yeah that there's there's those types that's an initial assessment sort of process what people comes in after that yep so you the competency continual competency continual training through also consultation with the workers you know your toolbox the toolbox mate yeah and you'll only do sorry yeah it talks our meetings and it's not just a chat a lot of it there's a lot of discussion around the safety around the risks in the business and it gives the opportunity for the workers to say that's what I'm doing I think is is it the safest or the best way to do it mm-hmm or I've got an idea it could that could make it safer and even could actually make it more profitable for the business to do as well yeah that's why now some of those common management things if you inject energy into your staff and in these sorts of things that obviously you'd normally get a Productivity hit or you know movement because you're just spending time absent in in energize against and that is where a lot of the time that HR and workplace health and safety will overlap you know okay because a lot of workplace health and safety is also going to be a great benefit for the business by having your your employees being more involved in how the works done and again they're through that those toolbox meetings for the training making sure that the business is aware when licenses may need to be renewed when when the tickets are expiring one need refresher training yeah those sorts of things is the main area making sure that the company has its policies around this is what we are going to do as a company mm-hmm to make sure that we're safe and then also making that available to all employees so everybody's aware of what's the responsibilities okay well you know and you do these things don't go for Epsilon yeah no fabulous way no well we got to run at a time so a good wrap-up at that now how did people get in touch with Wayne brand more and more partners okay WWL partners calmed are you yeah he's a webpage and Bramall Papa's calmed are you is my email address either way it's probably easiest no I'm great okay Wayne thank you very much for coming on the show it's all right some really odd boring and sobering stuff around compliance but it is important but I think that's the resolver out of what we call me and so but an important topic and in effects business and so many different ways thank you I'm John Nayler on the eCentral Business Show