Imagine the ratings!I guess it would make great TV if a contestant took a winger of a 2m scaffold in the middle of the night and took out a camera operator. Nothing like backboards and stiff necks on set for a bit of drama. — Sarah Bond
Because signing in is going to prevent someone falling off a dodgy scaffold? I wonder how much that app paid for that product placement.The Block contestants stand to earn a lot of money and the show owners are raking in the marketing/product placement dollars. To me this moves the show beyond the realms of home DIY. People are being put at risk due to poor working at heights practice and fatigue issues. Apparently, all in the name of 'good tv' this is ok in NZ. — Sarah Bond
Sorry I haven't watched the block in a long time (maybe never as I am probably confusing The Block and Mitre10 Dream Home... that is how long it has been!) But I am guessing that the show hasn't "sold" the property to the contestants, so if the contestants are living in them then the show would be a landlord and since they would be engaging the contractors/suppliers/etc. then it would be definitely a workplace - and the only people who would be protected from prosecution under HSWA by calling it a "home" would be the contestants themselves...To be fair, Wolfie did go on the rampage last night because someone hadn't signed in, which lead to a nice hazard app product placement shot. — Sarah Bond
Just to be clear The Block is on Three, which is owned by Discovery Inc. (recently sold from Mediaworks) and not by TVNZ.It seems like TVNZ are being a little too lax in my opinion. — Stace
the problem is that there already is a "H&S check" within the show as shown by the site supervisor's (Wolfie is it?) rant about having to sign in. The issue is that this seems to still be the reality of H&S within the residential building industry, not actual risk management but superficial actions... however the main cause for this (in my opinion) is a lot of the H&S advice being offered in this industry is of the "we'll take care of H&S for you" type rather than "we'll help you manage your risks" typeIt shouldn't be too much of an issue to have a little H&S reality check in there... — Stace
Section 17 of HSWA defines a PCBU and also who is not. Given the contestants live onsite, they may be defined as being the occupants. Hence HSWA does not apply as the workplace is not their place of work. Others who do not reside there may be determined as workers so HSWA applies. — KeithH
Simply living on site doesn't mean you're not a PCBU — Aaron Marshall
If you are interested in workplace health & safety in New Zealand, then this is the discussion forum for you.