What does Engineering Safety do?
The main areas of Engineering Safety activity are as follows:
- Administration of PECPR Regulations
- Administration of Amusement Devices Regulations
- Development and support of codes of practice (e.g. Cranes, Boilers, Pressure Equipment, Passenger Ropeways)
- Technical support as required for relevant Acts of Parliament (e.g. HSE and HSNO)
- Fork truck training monitoring
- Technical queries - internal (OSH) and external
- Standards - national and international
- Training - internal (OSH)
- Audits - internal (OSH) and external
Administration of the PECPR Regulations includes:
- Draft revisions and amendments, including external comment process
- Interpretation
- Boiler safety audits and participation in other audits
- Assessment of inspection bodies leading to recommendation for the Secretary's recognition
- Assessment of organisations leading to recommendation for specified exemptions by the Secretary
Administration of the Amusement Devices Regulations includes:
- Draft revisions and amendments, including external comment process
- Interpretation
- Registration process
- Participation in accident investigations
Codes of Practice
- Drafting or co-ordinating, including external comment process
- Draft revisions and amendments, including external comment process
- Interpretation
Acts of Parliament
- Draft input
- Consultancy
- Technical support relating to queries
- Specific approvals (e.g. transitional HSNO involvement)
Fork truck training
- Registering trainers
- Auditing trainers
- Fork truck drivers' annual national competition
Technical Queries
Technical queries come from many sources including OSH regional offices, inspection bodies, controllers of equipment, unions, industry associations, other government agencies, etc. These queries often relate to the PECPR or Amusement Devices Regulations or their application, but increasingly more general mechanical engineering topics arise.
Standards
Engineering Safety is represented on relevant Standards Australia /Standards New Zealand Joint Technical Committees and participates in the development of engineering standards. Technical questions are also received concerning the application of these standards. Although it is not Engineering Safety's function to interpret standards, some involvement in the application of the standards in relation to the regulations is necessary.
Training
Engineering Safety is a resource centre for OSH internal training.
Audits
Engineering Safety is available to conduct OSH internal system audits and external safety audits. All its engineers are qualified auditors.
From time to time Engineering Safety is involved in areas of activity outside the basics outlined above. Some recent examples are:
- ATV safety
- Elevated work platforms
- Tilt-up concrete panel handling
- Working at heights
