This month, I ventured down to the SARNZ conference which took place at the Dunedin Hall over the 8th and 9th of August.

With sweltering Otago weather pushing a high of 9° over both days, I arrived at the Dunedin town hall for an 8 am registration and a spot of breakfast.

The 2019 SARNZ conference was two days jam-packed with presentations, guest speakers, an exciting trade show, and many networking opportunities. We also attended presentations by KeyNote speakers  Lydia Bradey, and members of Duncan-Cotterill educating us with workshops on Profitability, Duties of Care, and the imperative points of Health and Safety. Morning teas were supplied both days by Inglewood Timber, and Safeway Scaffolding respectively.

To finish off the first day, there was a well deserved Happy hour at the Speights Ale House, followed by a tour of the venue with food and drinks.  Closing celebrations took place at the Forsyth Barr Stadium, with renowned Television and Radio personality Jim Hopkins providing entertainment as MC for the night.

 

Cheers,

Jarrod Radcliffe
General Manager

 


Team Praise

We’d like to take a moment to praise the efforts of the South Pacific Scaffolding team over the past 8 weeks.

Our team has been working tirelessly to ensure that jobs are completed to a high standard, and completed on time. We have faced a raft of challenges including but not limited to weather conditions, long term jobs coming to a close, and of course new works commencing.

The South Pacific Scaffolding Team has truly gone above and beyond in recent months to ensure, safety, service and quality of workmanship is delivered to our clients at the highest of industry standards.

 


Fatigue

To work safely, workers should be physically and mentally alert. This means that fatigue is a potential risk. Persons conducting a business or undertaking (PCBUs) and workers have a responsibility to manage fatigue at work.
There are various causes of fatigue, some of them inter-related. These include:

  • Work schedules – hours of work, night work and shift work (including breaks between shifts): Long work hours, irregular work hours, and schedules that require night work can cause fatigue. These schedules limit the time for a person to physically and mentally recover from work. Working at night interrupts the natural sleeping rhythm, which can cause fatigue.
  • Environmental conditions: Climate extremes (such as working outside in winter), noise and handling vibrating tools place demands on workers and increase fatigue.

Workers must also take responsibility for their own health and safety.
They must take reasonable care that what they do, or don’t do, doesn’t adversely affect the health and safety of others.
Workers should:

  • Turn up in a state fit for work, having done everything possible to get a good sleep and rest.
  • Inform your manager or supervisor if a task is beyond your capabilities.
  • Recognise the signs and symptoms of fatigue. They include: feeling (constantly) tired, having little energy, feeling ‘sluggish’, excessive yawning or falling asleep at work, less vigilant, bad moods, forgetfulness, inability to concentrate, poor communication, poor decision-making, reduced hand-eye coordination and slower reaction times. Other symptoms not so obvious to others include: feeling drowsy, headaches, dizziness, blurred vision or impaired visual perception and a need for extended sleep during days off work.
  • Communicate with your manager or a supervisor if you start showing the signs and symptoms of fatigue. Also, make managers and supervisors aware of other workers who may be fatigued.
  • Report fatigue-related incidents.

At the end of the day, we want everyone home safe.