Vanessa, I've been often underwhelmed when auditing or training on workplace health and safety cultures and there are often so little thought in place for any form of employee impairment / disability. Even heard from directly from employees where they have been forgotten during an emergency drill or were unable to access the disabled toilet during a 6 hour lockdown. It prompted me to read a bit more on the subject and I came upon a great document that the Office of the Ombudsman put out in February 2023. It's well worth a read - https://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/resources/removing-barriers-reasonable-accommodation-disabled-people-aotearoa . Good on you for the inclusivity at your place of work. I've started to include it as an question when auditing workplaces and 90% of the time there is nothing in place - so started to include commentary on it in the culture component and I give often sensible and simple recommendations on how they can improve the workplace for their impaired or disabled employees. NZ has still a lot of work to do in this space.

Thanks for the interest Steve - it turned out to be fortunate as I went contracting instead. But as far as I am aware, it's still an all boys club in that business. I did consider taking it further at the time, but once you are labelled as "difficult or demanding or even challenging" - often the stigma is hard to erase and we in H&S are a very small community. I've loving the idea of the list though

Less than 5 years ago I was told by a National Operations Manager of large business with 8 branches - that I had all the knowledge, experience and relationships necessary to be their first female branch manager here in Wellington. Only to be informed the following day that actually they were not ready to break the glass ceiling as there as yet were no other female branch managers in their business. Jane nailed it - here is yet another man telling us the glass ceiling doesn't exist and I've felt it first hand - thankfully there were some male voices of reason and enlightenment on this thread.

I've been using BWARE at Kapiti Coast Airport for the last couple of years - the team are always helpful, it is NZ based, adaptable to most environments and a very reasonably cost.

Phil and his team at WorkSafe must navigate unchartered waters if we are ever going to make any significant inroads to the heinous workplace stats that don't seem to be reducing. Personally I am 100% behind this initiative ...

I've been involved in several Telarc audits for both safety and quality with a variety of clients and have yet to have a bad experience with them. Their auditors have all been informative and friendly.

I won a short story competition in 1983 in the Women's Weekly - afterwards I was invited to attend the Queens Garden Party at Buckingham Palace - as was living in London by then but decided not to go. Only 18 and didn't know any better - always regret not going - would have been much better story.

Hi Jane - I am having the same issues - any chance of sharing with me too - ours definitely need a revamp thanks Jan jandothoustonatprimaryitodotacdotnz

Agree - Aon still offers insurance to H&S professionals

Hey Gordon
I work with several clients and they all have different systems - I agree with Mark G above - please do investigate BWARE - I'm Safety Manager at Kapiti Coast Airport and it works well there just as it would in a construction or even office setting. Other systems I use at a variety of clients include Risk Manager, GOSH and Vault - happy to share my feelings on those if you want to email me directly.

thanks so much Rebecca and Matthew

I'm disappointed in the Grant's comment, it's all too familiar on construction sites and farms here in NZ. Yes I want NZ to win and yes no doubt that Grant is probably one of the best in the world at what he does, but his rhetoric and way it was delivered speaks volumes. A backwards step for us in the H&S profession, we are constantly striving to improve peoples perspective of H&S. Most H&S professionals have single focus and it is not about arse covering - it is about no one getting killed or injured on their watch.

couldn't agree more Michael

Hey Michelle - I agree and have had the same debate with H&S Colleagues - who also hate the ad. I believe it's a starting discussion point, particularly with workers where visuals speak volumes more than the written word. The Vegetables thing was appalling and I'm not sure why they invested in that ....

Robyn Vallom at EnviroWaste was my first major influence on a career path towards being a Health and Safety professional. She saw my raw passion for the safety of our employees and always encouraged me to upskill, starting at HSR training through all 4 stages and onto Occ H&S Certificate. She has been the driving force at EnviroWaste for many years as H&S Manager - in a male dominant environment, she always stands her ground and thinks of workers safety and wellbeing first and foremost.
My second, another woman, who has been my mentor for many years and has been a guiding light throughout my career is Fiona Carney - my H&S Manager while at George Weston Foods. She encouraged my progression to achieve Diploma in Occ Health and as part of the safety team, you always felt she had your back and she did many times for a lot of the team. These two women I can not thank enough for putting me on this career path and assisting me throughout - they have been and remain my heroines and represent what I aspire to be. In fact, it is because of them that I joined the NZISM mentoring programme and am now playing it forward for 2 fledging H&S students.

We ensure that their involvement and pro activeness as HSR is regularly appreciated in transparent ways that everyone is aware of. The best HSR's are the ones there not for financial reward but because they have the same driver as any H&S professional, they care about their colleagues and want to contribute in keeping them safe.

Simon Bridges does no-one any favors with his statement, we are only just starting to gain traction and buy-in by businesses and individuals - he has not looked at the bigger picture, instead trying to inflame or create a popular topic to gain more voters. I hope we all see through this deception and know that, whilst not perfect, Work Safe is the entity that will help to bring down our dreadful stats. And I 100% agree = common sense is distinctly uncommon at most NZ workplaces. I've seen 12m ladders held together with plastic times, welders without respirators, unsecured window cleaners 5 floors up, a child as young as 9 years old assisting with roof cleaning ... I kid you not and the list could go on and on - H&S professionals should compile a book of them - common sense is still uncommon in NZ.

Hi Mark
I'm HASANZ Registered and have been auditing (WSMP, AS/NZ 4801, National Insurance Tool Australia etc) for many years in sectors like construction, waste/recycling and food manufacturing industries. I am just about to complete some aviation specific auditing training next week too. Am based in Wellington - check out my linked in profile for more information.

Out with 5 HR Consultant friends the other night and we discussed rates as you do. Without exception they were all $35+ per hour more than I was earning as a H&S Consultant. I'm 16+ years H&S professional with Occ Health Diploma and listed in HASANZ register. I find work easy enough to get but don't believe the current rates/pay scales reflects the gravity of our role and responsibilities.

Hi Michael - I have 75 employees currently Stage 1 Defensive Driver trained and putting them all through Stage 2. Whilst in UK recently I met with a senior H&S person from Johnson & Johnson - and had the same question - his answer was that it was just one of the building blocks to put all wall of protection around their employees, they have over 1500+ people driving every day throughout Europe and UK - so it is a considerable expense, but one they invest in because believe it is making a difference.