Health and Safety stories
Sustainability issues in IT are proving difficult to solve, despite growing demand for more sustainable IT products.
Fire crews can now practise dangerous bushfire scenarios more safely and cheaply, without toxic foam or live flames, using virtual reality.
Poor training and weak workplace procedures can leave employees exposed to avoidable injuries, from unsafe machinery to missed breaks and hazards.
Lack of height-safety procedures left a teacher and student unconscious after a scaffold toppled during school lighting setup.
Without user charges, the new drinking water regulator could still leave New Zealand councils struggling to fund overdue upgrades and growth.
Falls from just a few metres can still kill, as complacency around ladders, roofs and trucks leaves workers exposed to severe head and neck injuries.
Regular safety audits are helping construction firms lift compliance, with Site Safe warning many still lag on new hazard rules and reporting.
Auckland childcare and property firms were fined after a dead tree crushed a playground, injuring four toddlers and a teacher.
A new risk-management tool could help employers tackle bullying earlier, as the behaviour costs Australia up to USD $36 billion a year.
A North Island firm has been fined and ordered to pay reparation after an untrained worker was left paralysed in a boom lift fall.
In New Zealand’s construction sector, a simple check-in from colleagues is being urged as a potentially life-saving response to mounting suicide risks.
A worker suffered severe hand injuries after NZCC Limited kept using a sausage casing machine with known safety faults, WorkSafe says.
Smaller contractors can be left tens of thousands of dollars out of pocket when builders collapse, prompting calls for stronger protections.
Sensors, drones and automation are reshaping building upkeep, with smarter systems promising lower costs and better occupant comfort.
Neighbours were endangered and a wheelchair user trapped when a demolition error caused a gas leak and asbestos exposure risks.
New Zealand's city congestion strains employees' personal lives and mental health, says OneHQ CEO, urging companies to adopt flexible work practices.
WorkSafe said trainee crews lacked supervision and safety gear, after an inexperienced forestry worker was knocked unconscious by a felled tree.
A safety prosecution has exposed maintenance failures after a brake defect left two people badly injured and cost Sorensen Transport GBP £150,000.
Businesses face safety, insurance and liability risks if they occupy buildings without a Code Compliance Certificate, an expert says.
After earthquakes, managers could know within minutes whether buildings are safe, cutting weeks of waiting for engineering reports.