Read our latest news and updates below
Kia ora koutou members and supporters, Hopefully, you have all had a chance to submit your vote on the election of a new Governance Board member, Kristen Thompson. Voting closes on 17th March and I encourage you to participate in this process if you haven’t already. This year marks the end of the first 2-year term for the Governance Board, so we will be undertaking further elections later in the year to reappoint Board members who re-stand and fill any vacancies that arise. We will take the lessons learned through this experience into the next election process. ...
Kia ora koutou members and supporters of NZISM, As I am sitting in Dunedin on a hot sunny day, I am reminded how climate can make a difference to how we work. There was an interesting article that came out in 2018 about the role of the safety climate in implementation of safety management systems (such as OHSAS 18001) in construction industries. ...
This year NZISM is launching the inaugural Practitioner to Professional Award. This award will be given to one accredited NZISM Practitioner member every year. The award will include a year’s complimentary membership to NZISM with the many benefits associated with membership and a 12-month mentorship with a Certified Professional NZISM member. ...
Welcome back NZISM members and supporters! I hope you all had a much-deserved rest and spent time recuperating from the madness of last year. I had forced rest over the holidays due to fracturing my ankle just before Christmas. We had planned a hectic schedule of travelling around catching up with friends and whanau and camping in Northland. However, we had to change our plans to accommodate my mobility issues and although it was frustrating, what I realised was the holiday planned wouldn’t have given me the rest that my mind and body needed. ...
Kia ora koutou to all members and supporters of NZISM. As we wind down for the end of the year, I know many of us will be relieved 2020 is nearly over. Our experiences will be unique to us as individuals, and although it's not always a pleasant experience, it’s a good time to reflect on what didn’t go so well, and in this year most importantly, what successes we had. ...
For some time, New Zealand Inc. held observer (O) membership of ISO/Technical Committee 283 – Occupational Health and Safety Management. In October 2020, New Zealand moved to participating (P) membership. This came around due to specific interest relating to a standard being developed by working group 2 (WG 2), ISO/Draft International Standard (DIS) 45003 - Occupational health and safety management — Psychological health and safety at work: managing psychosocial risks — Guidelines. An International Review Group (IRG) was established made up of five persons, all with relevant backgrounds. ...
Kia ora koutou members and supporters, Thanks to everyone who took time out to respond to our annual survey. We have had such a great response and we are working through all of the comments and suggestions to ensure we capture everything. This is the most important activity for us in terms of ensuring the decisions we make align with the expectations of our members. We read every comment to learn from our mistakes, to do more of what you love, and to drive a focus on the things that matter to you. ...
Kia ora koutou to all members and supporters of NZISM. NZISM frequently provides content to the media on health and safety issues. Occasionally there is interest and uptake, although rarely do we make it to the larger media outlets. Recently we have been promoting NZISM as a willing and collaborative partner in the wider discussion regarding management of healthcare, border control and quarantine facilities, with the intent of providing our expertise to add depth and a different lens to the current approach. ...
NZISM President, Robyn Bennett, joins expert guests on RNZ's The Panel'. She argues an urgent task force is needed to address COVID-19 health and safety at work risks, especially in healthcare and other high risk areas. Can we marry clinical and health & safety perspectives? ...
Kia ora members and supporters: NZISM, on behalf of its members, welcomes Michael Wood as the new Minister of Workplace Relations and Safety. As we have done previously we will be offering Michael NZISM honorary membership for his Ministerial term and we look forward to working with him to influence better health and safety outcomes at work. We will be following with interest the decisions he makes early on, with a hope that any potential review of the HSWA further strengthens the role that health and safety practitioners and professionals play in keeping workers safe. ...
New Zealand Institute of Safety Management (NZISM) and South African Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (Saiosh) are excited to announce the signing of a Reciprocal Agreement. This is an important step in opening up our global partnerships and acknowledging the internationally aligned standards for the health and safety profession within our two countries. This agreement provides a framework for continued cooperation and mutual recognition of our members. Reciprocal grading will be applied with the following alignment: ...
Kia ora koutou to all members and supporters of NZISM. Recently I was fortunate enough to attend a presentation by Neil Mookerjee who holds the role of Duty Holder Review Manager, Specialist Interventions at WorkSafe. He outlined the role of the Duty Holder Review Team and how they support organisations with their investigations. ...
We invite you to take the time to explore the digital version of our 2020 Annual Report 2019-20. You can navigate your way around the document using the encircled buttons on the right hand side of the pages and also from the subheadings on the Contents page. ...
Kia ora koutou members and supporters. This update is written with a mixture of sadness and pride. I received a message from a member last weekend to advise they had been in the depths of despair and had been contemplating suicide. My heart sank with the news, and I immediately called our member, who will remain anonymous but who has given permission to tell a small part of their story. ...
Kia ora koutou to all members and supporters of NZISM. I have been fortunate enough over the course of my career to audit a number of companies and recently I was back at one where, over the course of two years, they have achieved what can only be described as transformational change. ...
WorkSafe, ACC and the Ministry of Health have been working collaboratively with health professionals in the national Dust Diseases Taskforce to understand and respond to the emerging risk to engineered stone workers of exposure to respiratory crystalline silica (RCS). RCS can cause accelerated silicosis, a potentially serious lung disease. This has been seen overseas in those working with engineered (i.e. artificial) stone used in the benchtop industry. ...
Kia ora koutou katoa members and supporters, Thank you to all those that attended our virtual AGM last Thursday. When I think about the very first AGM I attended, I had been in the role just under a month. We headed to New Plymouth for the National Executive Committee meeting and had the AGM combined that afternoon. I believe we had a handful of members attempting to watch online but the video and sound quality were nothing like what we now experience using Zoom virtual meeting software. I'm keen to hear from you about your experience with this year's online AGM because delivering these online means more members get to participate in the formal procedures and I believe it makes sense to continue this approach moving forward. ...
Kia ora koutou to all members and supporters of NZISM. All good things come to an end. As I write this I am in the last few days of my term as President of NZISM with Robyn Bennett stepping into the role at this year’s AGM on the 9th September. I wish her every success and I am looking forward to following the development of the organisation with Robyn as President. With NZISM still in the early stages of its new management structure, there are many opportunities for growth and I am keen to follow how we, through you our members, contribute to the improvement of New Zealand’s performance in health and safety at work. ...
Kia ora koutou to all members and supporters of NZISM. What an absolutely enlightening five weeks it has been listening to Nippin Anand and his commentary on becoming a Learning Organisation. I have spoken to a number of attendees who were mesmerised by Nippin’s storytelling ability and there has been a huge number of comments across social media about the benefits people got from attending this event. Here are my own personal 'takeaways'... ...
We are delighted to introduce you to our presidential nominee, Robyn Bennett, who will become our new NZISM President after September's AGM. ...
Re-thinking traditional work problems using innovation processes is the idea behind a new group set up to share ideas and build the country’s innovative capability. ...
Kia ora koutou katoa members and supporters, For those of us who have been fortunate enough to spend time with Nippin Anand, he has given us much to consider. In this increasingly fast-paced world of work, it often feels like a luxury to take time out of our busy schedules to learn or reflect on our work practices. These past few weeks have enabled me to reflect on several areas of my professional practice, and I would like to share some of these thoughts with you. ...
NZISM is delighted that Phil Parkes, CEO of WorkSafe, has joined our community as an honorary member. NZISM is committed to leading the way for the health and safety profession and, through the development and support of our members, ensuring safer and healthier work outcomes. It's great to be sharing ideas and working in even closer alignment with our industry regulator. ...
Thank you for joining the Women in Safety Excellence (WISE) network.
We hold various online and face-to-face events throughout the year and if one occurs near you, we would love to meet you in person.
LinkedIn - Please make sure you join our LinkedIn group to stay connected and on top of our planned webinars and events. We encourage you to post anything in the WISE group page that you think other network members would find useful or inspiring. Please don't be shy. The more we reach out, the more we connect with each other, and the more we can help each other on our journeys.
We might send you the occasional email but our web page on the NZISM website is always the best place to go for an overview of what's coming up in the WISE calendar.
Best wishes,
Margaret van Schaik
WISE Chair