Between 2018/19, 276 drownings occurred in Australia, a large portion were young children between 0-4 years, with 84% of all deaths involving accidental falls. The Australian lifestyle often includes activities around water, so swimming will no doubt become part of a child’s life. Therefore, it’s essential that information on water safety is easily accessible for parents to understand safety guidelines to help prevent drowning. Also, that swimming lesson opportunities are provided, allowing children to learn to swim well.

The team at Pro-Visual Publishing caught up with Swimming Water Safety Advocate, Dave DuBois, from Carlile Swimming to chat about all things water safety.

Carlile Swimming, located in Sydney, is a Premier Swim School with award winning programs. They are dedicated to nurturing a child’s lifelong love of the water by providing comprehensive training and being part of a family’s journey to water safety and safer swimming.







Dave emphasises that weekly year-round lessons are critical to capability success and he urges parents to start as soon as possible. Dave says “Do it, do it now, don’t wait! Without a doubt, swimming is the most important activity you can have your child involved in. It can literally save your child’s life and provides lifelong benefits.”

In addition to regular swimming lessons, resources are available to provide further assistance or advice to stay safer around water including Kids Alive do the Five and the National Drowning Report by the Royal Life Saving Australia. Dave expresses that the Australian Swim School Association’s ‘SAFERlayers of Protection’ is also crucial in reducing the risk of drowning, but still there is no 100% guarantee when it comes to ensuring a child’s safety in the water.

“There is always an inherent risk around water that can’t be eliminated. However, there are many things that can be done to reduce the risk and help make children SAFER around water,” Dave says.

The recently published National Guide to Public Pools & Aquatic Centres by Pro-Visual Publishing provides detailed information on vital water safety topics and is currently displayed across swim schools Nationally.


“It’s all about community education and awareness, the resource Pro-Visual Publishing have produced is fantastic. It’s great when industries are producing similar messaging.” Dave says.

Both swimming lessons and swim safety resources ensure assistance and support is readily available to aid in the prevention of drowning and build safety awareness. If you’re considering lessons, don’t wait, act now and give your child the best opportunity you can to help them stay safer around water.

When the topic of workplace, health and safety is brought up, is an office environment the first thing that comes to mind? Or instead more labour-intensive industries like the construction industry, agriculture or working as an electrician? You might be surprised to know, according to Safe Work Australia, 40% of claims made were by employees in administration, professional services, sales and community work and management.
 
Injuries are more likely to occur in white-collared environments due to senior management not implementing their company's WHS policies, and SAI Global have listed the seven most commonly overlooked workplace hazards by employers:

1. Heavy Workloads and High-stress Levels
Work-related stress is the second-most compensated illness or injury in Australia which can lead to physical symptoms such as headaches and fatigue, psychological symptoms such as anxiety, sleep loss and depression, or behavioural symptoms, such as mood swings. These can contribute to long-term health complications such as sleep loss and diabetes. To ensure organisations are meeting their WHS obligations, top management must include all workers in their WHS decision making and comply with ISO 4500 standard.

2. Concealed Bullying and Harassment
According to SAI Global auditors have identified junior-to-mid-level employees, contractors and external suppliers to be the main culprits of bullying and harassment rather than managers who are usually perceived as the main perpetrators. Being on the receiving end of bullying can result in emotional trauma and psychological injury, resulting in higher absenteeism and emotional stress.

3. Basic Clutter
General day-to-day items including boxes, plants, bags on floors or courier deliveries placed in access areas can present trip and collision risks and even more so if workers are distracted. SAI Global recommends that employers organise regular housekeeping activities, risk assessments and inspections to identify workplace hazards. When items are not in use, its suggested items have predetermined storage locations to prevent trip hazards.
 
4. Blocked Access to Fire Safety Equipment
Are there items in your workplace that are blocking the entrance to fire exits, sprinkler heads, fire hoses or fire hydrants? In the event of an emergency, this can obstruct the efficiency or use of fire safety equipment. Fire safety equipment should have one-metre-clear zones marked by signage and workplaces should have regular safety inspections and see that there is preventative maintenance in place for essential services.

5. Non-adjustable Desks, Chairs and Monitors
Is your back aching more than usual? Are you finding that you have more significant back pain at work? According to research led by the University of Sydney, lower back pain accounts for one-third of all work-related disability. Height-adjustable desks, chairs and monitors can help aid and prevent back pain and the associated costs of compensation.

6. Extreme Workplace Temperatures
Is it a habit of yourself or others in your office to bring a jumper in on 30-degree days because your office resembles arctic temperatures? Then it's probably not surprising to hear that complaints about temperature are widespread within an office environment.
Heat and cold stress can impact worker’s health, leading to days off work and even workers’ compensation claims. To maintain employee comfort interior workplaces should be at even temperatures of 22 degrees in summer and 24 degrees in winter.

7. An Employer’s Lack of Commitment to Safety
It is all well and good to have WHS procedures in place but has everyone in your organisation been trained and are familiar with them? If there seems to be a minority of workers knowledgeable of your WHS procedures, the overall commitment to workplace safety culture significantly diminishes. When workers aren’t educated about potential workplace hazards, risks and good safety practices, illnesses and injuries are more likely to occur.

Reference: https://bit.ly/35r9ACO

 As the cold mornings start to become few and far to make way for the warmer months it is more important than ever to remember sun safety on-site. It’s no surprise that Australian summers are hot to say the least, which can have some Tradies and outdoor workers dreading the as some might say, the unbearable hot season.
 
These very hot and extreme conditions can lead to heat-related health problems. UV Radiation is a major workplace hazard to employees who spend some or majority of their working day outdoors. Taking precautions by wearing these five personal protection items will help to prevent the affects of heat stress and allow you to stay sun safe during the summer months.

1. CLOTHING
Wear light, loose fitting clothing that covers an adequate amount of the body. Clothes should be made from fabrics that assist in the evaporation of perspiration e.g. cotton and be light in colour, avoid wearing black. Although it might be tempting to wear shorts and short sleeved shirts, to stay protected it's best to ensure shirts and trousers are long.

 2. HATS
Hats with brims of at least 8 centimetres or Foreign Legion’ style caps with loose flap to protect the neck and ears should be worn to ensure the best protection from the sun.

3. SUNSCREEN
Sunscreen should be non-allergenic and have a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 30+ but preferably 50+. Remember that no type of sunscreen provides complete protection; you must remember to wear it in combination with hats, clothing and other protective measures. Make sure to reapply sunscreen every 2 hours, more often if profuse sweating is occurring.
 
4. LIP PROTECTION
Don't forget the lips! The skin on your lips doesn’t contain melanin, which provides natural protection, therefore your lips need to be protected with 15+ and above zinc.

 5. EYE PROTECTION
Eye protection should be used for both safety and health reasons, i.e. protecting eyes from the sun and shielding from debris or chemicals.
 
These five key items will help to ensure you are protecting yourself from the harsh summer rays whilst on the worksite. Remember to stay cool whenever possible, keep covered and stay hydrated by drinking at least 2-3L per day.

“The NSCA awards in my opinion are of the highest standard. Their judging process and criteria make it very difficult to become a finalist let alone win. I congratulate all finalists and winners and a major congratulations to the winner of Member of the Year – Safework Australia.”

​ – John Hutchings, CEO of Pro-Visual Publishing​

​The NSCA Foundation congratulated all finalists, highly commended and winners from the 2017 NSCA Foundation / GIO Workers Compensation National Safety Awards of Excellence announced at the Gala Awards Luncheon on Thursday 12 October 2017 at Doltone House, Hyde Park, which Pro-Visual Publishing’s CEO, John Hutchings and Marketing Manager, Deanna Davenport attended.

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​As Pro-Visual Publishing has been a long-term partner and works closely with NSCA, we sponsored the award for 2017 Foundation Member of the Year.
 
This award recognises the NSCA Foundation Individual or Corporate member who has demonstrated commitment and leadership in work health and safety. It could be the implementation of a safety management system, project or program; or a solution that reduces the risk of work-related injury and disease.
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Regardless of whether your safety initiative is big or small, if it is making a positive difference to work safety and culture, we want to hear about it.
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This award is selected by the NSCA Foundation Board of Directors and went to Safe Work Australia for 2017.