A world-first self-fitting hearing aid with a rechargeable battery and the ability to be set via a smartphone has been developed with the help of Australian Swinburne’s ARC Training Centre in Biodevices.

Mar 12, 2018  -  The EPA have served a Compliance Order on Task Protection Services Ltd, as part of our inquiry into fire-fighting foams.  “The EPA has issued the Compliance Order on the basis that Task Protection Services Ltd owns and controls fire trucks and fire-fighting foams at Palmerston North, Gisborne, and Hawkes Bay airports,” Chief Executive Dr Allan Freeth announced today.

Fonterra and Beca have partnered to develop a breakthrough virtual reality health and safety training technology. The cutting-edge solution lets employees navigate the Co-operative’s manufacturing and distribution sites without the need to set foot on site and will help substantially reduce onboarding times.

Mar 02, 2018  -  New Zealand workplaces have been required to adequately guard machinery since the Machinery Act 1950 came into force.

No longer just tough shells for your noggin, the humble bicycle helmet has recently been kitted out with turn signals, walkie talkies, blind spot detection systems and bone-conduction speakers. Now an Australian startup called Cyclevision has revealed the Edge, a helmet sporting front- and back-facing cameras to let riders watch for danger or record their adventures.

Feb 19, 2018  -  Brake, the road safety charity has announced the details of its fourth annual Australasian Fleet Safety Awards. The charity is inviting awards entries from fleet operators and suppliers working to reduce the number of road crashes involving at-work drivers. The deadline for entering is Friday 15 June 2018 and the winners will be announced on Thursday 11 October at a reception in Auckland.

 Feb 09, 2018  - There are no second chances with heavy machinery says WorkSafe after the sentencing of Easton Agriculture Limited today in Palmerston North District Court.

Dec 5, 2017  -  New Zealand based health and safety technology start up Safe365 has confirmed entry into the Canadian market on the back of a strong initial 12 months in New Zealand since launch. Canadian businesses of all sizes and industries will be able to access Safe365’s ground breaking web application that assesses, diagnoses and supports continuous improvement in health and safety capability from 5 December 2017. For Safe365, it means entry into the lucrative North American market and the capacity to scale product uptake rapidly. Safe365’s Country Director – Canada, Michael Matthews said “as an experienced health and…

Nov 24, 2017  -  SafePlus, a new Government developed and endorsed health and safety toolkit, is now available to all New Zealand businesses, and is set to help lift the health and safety performance in workplaces across the country.  SafePlus currently consists of three products: Resources and Guidance, the market-delivered Onsite Assessment and Advisory Service and the Online Self-Assessment tool. Malcolm MacMillan, SafePlus Programme Manager says, "New Zealand has an unnecessarily high rate of serious workplace accidents. The social and economic cost of this in New Zealand workplaces is conservatively estimated at $3.5 billion each year, and inflicts an enormous…

Nov 23, 2017  -   Seven years after the Pike River disaster and after significant changes to legislation and regulations surrounding health and safety in the workplace, nothing has changed according to the Maintenance Engineering Society of New Zealand at their annual National Maintenance Engineering Conference in Hamilton. Fronting a groundswell of opinion from industry, society Chair Barry Robinson stated “Prior to Pike River the Maintenance Engineering Society was a lone voice saying that workers were no safer. Pike River provided the opportunity to make major change which has indeed happened but our recent survey and field work confirms that key…

Nov 23, 2017  -  An Auckland waste removal company and its director have been sentenced today after one of the firm’s employees was killed in a workplace accident. Jamey Lee Bowring, an employee of Salter’s Cartage, was killed in September 2015 after the fuel tank he was welding on exploded. A subsequent investigation by police and WorkSafe found that the 100,000 litre tank had been labelled as a diesel tank when in fact it held a combination of fuels and gas. The investigation also found "widespread non-compliance" across the worksite, which also had “high hazards" and the ability to cause…