Navigating new requirements around the Health and Safety Reform Bill is vital to understanding how to protect your workplace from third party health and safety risks.
This was the focus of a recent Health and Safety seminar that was run by CrestClean in conjunction with the Tauranga Chamber of Commerce.
Health and Safety Consultant and Advisor Andrew Swensen, of Swensen & Associates Ltd, presented the informative seminar to 45 people from a range of industry backgrounds.
Health and Safety topics that were covered included the difference between a customer and a contractor, workplace health and safety inductions, what to expect from a ‘good’ contractor, responsibilities, liabilities and your role.
“It is important to understand the changes. It really is about protecting your business from prosecution and protecting your workers from harm,” he says. “The seminar was very accommodating. It was interactive and generated plenty of robust discussion and 16 follow-up enquiries.”
Andrew says the seminar alleviated a lot of anxiety attendees had about the changes.
“A concern to me was how much fear the changes have generated in small businesses and the lack of understanding about what is changing. Attendees came into the room quite scared about the changes. They found the opportunity to ask questions alleviated a lot of that anxiety.”
CrestClean Tauranga Regional Manager Jan Lichtwark says the seminar was well received.
“People attended seminars from different business backgrounds including forestry, kiwifruit and property which was great to see,” he says. “A lot of people asked questions after Andrew’s presentation had finished. They also took notes throughout the presentation. It was well received. Everyone enjoyed it and found it interesting. The feedback was positive.”
