News
Covids Legacy for Workplace Health Management
NZISM President, Robyn Bennett, in an article featured in Business Desk NZ, explains what Covid's legacy will be in workplace health management - and why every organisation will need to learn "Every Smoko I Eat A Pie". ...
Presidents Blog 3/11/21
ACC recently consulted on the Accredited Employee Programme (AEP), and one of the things that interested me was the potential changes to the safety management section of the programme. The current safety portion of the audit standard is well overdue for a significant overhaul and to date ACC actions have been overtaken by retreating glaciers in the speed department. The good news is that they have put serious thought into what might be the options to replace the AS/NZS 4801 based standard they currently use. ...
Adventure Activities - MBIE consultation
The Government has announced the start of the public consultation into the health and safety regime for registered adventure activities. Following the Whakaari/White Island eruption on 9 December 2019, the Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety directed MBIE to undertake a targeted review of the adventure activities regulatory regime. ...
President's Blog 6/10/21
At the end of last month the Government announced changes to the Health and Safety Regulations including the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015: Plant, structures and working at heights. The intent being they will clarify and provide greater certainty for businesses on the Regulations, while supporting safety and health of workers. And they have produced a rather concise summary of the key changes covering plant and structures that makes good lunch time reading. ...
CEO's Update 23/9/21
With the recent terrorist incident in Auckland a few weeks ago, it’s a timely reminder that keeping our workplaces safe and secure for employees and customers needs to be a priority for all organisations that own, manage or create crowded places. ...
President's Blog 8/9/21
The Covid vaccination is a very topical subject at the moment, so I thought I’d reflect on a couple of aspects that impact on us in the health and safety profession. Firstly, I’d like to state that NZISM’s Board and SLT strongly support Covid vaccinations for those in the workplace, in accordance with the Ministry of Health’s Guidelines and applicable laws. We’ve heard about some workplaces having a ‘no jab, no job’ policy and this must be challenging when we temper that with the fundamental right to decline medical treatment, on medical and/or religious grounds. ...
Sharon Champness Joins NZISM Governance Board
Thank you to all those members who voted in the recent Board elections. We are delighted to announce that both Grant Nicholson and Mike Cosman were re-elected and that Sharon Champness was successful as our new board member. ...
Annual General Meeting 2021
Due to the current Level 4 restrictions on face-to-face events, the NZISM Annual General Meeting is unable to proceed on the scheduled date, 1st September 3pm. As no quorum will be able to be present at the meeting, the meeting is adjourned and will be reconvened when appropriate by notice to all current NZISM members by the Senior Leadership Team. ...
CEO's Update 25/8/21
AGM Postponed: Due to the current COVID-19 restrictions we will not be able to meet a quorum so will be reconvening our upcoming AGM. Whilst we are all disappointed at the news of this current situation, the lessons learnt last year have swung into place and we will be managing this AGM via zoom soon. We have some important resolutions up for vote this year so we want to see as many of you as possible attending online and voting. I will be sending out an update once the Senior Leadership Team have confirmed the new date. ...
Update: Accident Investigators and the Private Security and ...
The Private Security Personnel Licensing Authority (PSPLA) was set up to regulate and lift standards for security guards and private investigators. A judgement in June 2020 by the PSPLA has implications for workplace incident investigators. The Authority determined that a consultant who specialises in independent investigations into workplace complaints is covered by the definition of a ‘private investigator’ in the Private Security and Private Investigators Act 2010 (the Act), and so should be licensed under this Act. Under the definition this could potentially include health and safety professionals who undertake workplace investigations, health and safety auditors, and HR Professionals. Note that this judgement relates to consultants external to a company and not advisors who are employees. ...
Presidents Blog 11/8/21
A week ago Selena Armstrong (our CEO), Mike Cosman (our Board Chair) and myself attended a briefing meeting with the Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon Michael Wood. This sounds simple, although belies the fact that these events are important occasions for NZISM. We are more frequently having discussions at Government level and this speaks to our growing role, and acknowledgment of our participation in the health and safety conversation. Not only are we seeking engagement, we are becoming more and more heard with progress being made in a number of areas. ...
Governance Board Internship Opportunity
The New Zealand Institute of Safety Management (NZISM) is New Zealand’s leading professional membership association for health and safety practitioners and professionals. With approximately 2,000 members across 14 branches throughout New Zealand, our purpose is to influence better health and safety outcomes at work. ...
CEO's Update 28/7/21
What a few weeks we have had! Two weeks ago, we welcomed the launch of our Sidney Dekker Masterclass series, the first of four webinars. For those that purchase tickets, recordings will be available online for one month, so if you aren’t available for the live sessions, you can watch the recordings before the following webinar. There is a lot of deep thinking required, but that is why it's called a Masterclass. ...
Breakfast TV - Robyn Bennett fronts up on 'Burnout'
According to international research, it's almost a certainty that you or someone close to you is suffering from chronic workplace stress. So how to combat the wide spread issue of "burnout" in our workplaces? ...
President's Blog 14/7/21
We read and hear about health and safety incidents, injuries and deaths it seems more frequently than in the past. Most recent in my mind is the horror of the deaths in the Bangladesh factory from what seems to be an illegally locked door. ...
Your new webinar hosts
It was a tall order, trying to find someone to fill the shoes of Carlie Cossill as she prepares to hang up her headphones and embark on a full-time role back in the OHS workforce. However, WE DID IT!We are delighted to introduce you to Karl Berendt and Ben ...
CEO's Update 30/6/21
Kia ora koutou members and supporters. All the branches have now held their AGMs and our local committees have welcomed in a mix of new Branch Managers and committee volunteers. The work your local branches undertake on behalf of NZISM enables members to gather together to share experiences, knowledge and build their local networks. We are incredibly proud of all our volunteers and I want to thank all those who have given their time in support of the profession. ...
Kerbside collections - your input requested
In February 2020, the Ministry for the Environment commissioned WasteMINZ to undertake a national research and engagement programme and make recommendations for the standardisation of kerbside collections in New Zealand. The final report included four key recommendations. One recommendation related to the standardisation of materials collected at kerbside. Two recommendations focused on how the materials could be collected and the final recommendation encouraged local government to implement kerbside collections of food waste. ...
Working Together for better outcomes
The health and safety community in New Zealand is small and interconnected in a wide variety of ways, and much of what we get done and how we get it done, is based on a foundation of good relationships. This is very noticeable when sitting on the HASANZ governance group along with the other health and safety disciplines as we work to raise the profile of what we do to wider New Zealand.As one of the larger health and safety associations, it’s particularly important for NZISM to take a leadership role and be advocatin ...
CEO's Update 19/5/21
Kia ora koutou members and supporters. This week on the 21st and 22nd of May we celebrate Global Leadership Day. To mark this occasion, I would like us all to take the opportunity to check in with ourselves and with our colleagues. This past year has been an extraordinary time where many of us have had to cope with an inordinate amount of stress both in our personal and professional lives. ...
Free Prize Draw - Safeguard Conference
NZISM is delighted to offer one lucky member the opportunity to win a free ticket to attend the Safeguard National Health & Safety Conference at the Cordis Hotel on 1-2 June 2021. ...
