The Health and Safety at Work Act
This live online course covers the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, and will provide a sound grounding in HSWA duties and responsibilities. The course covers both general duties on PCBUs and upstream duties on those carrying out design, manufacture or importing.
Description
This course provides an overview of the Health and Safety at Work Act, explains the duty holders and duties, how duty holder responsibilities interact and overlap, and the nature of the upstream duties on designers, manufacturers and importers of plant, substances and structures.
The course also provides an overview of common methods and techniques used by engineering and design firms to satisfy their upstream duties.
Evolving case law and updated practice guidance issued since the last iteration of this course in 2016 is included in the course. The most recent MBIE consultation on the implementation of upstream duties is also included.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course, attendees will have an understanding of:
- The principles of the health and safety at work act – duty holders, types of duties, how different duties and duty holders interact
- The worker engagement duties under HSWA – what PCBUs need to do, and why this can be commercially beneficial
- The duties of PCBUs engaged in design and manufacturing, and what engineers need to know about these duties
- Common methods and tools for satisfying upstream duties, especially with respect to design
- An awareness of the most recent MBIE consultation on implementing upstream duties
- Evolving case law and updated practice guidance since 2016, including a case study of the first upstream-duty prosecution
Target Audience
This course is an update of a course last offered in person in 2016, and is suitable for both emerging professionals and for more experienced engineers seeking to maintain currency with HSWA obligations.
Course Format
This course will be four hours long, delivered in webinar format. The structure and intent of HSWA will be discussed, and the nature of the different duties and duty holders explained. Questions and discussions will occur throughout, tailored to meet the needs of attendees. Case studies will be used to demonstrate the principles of the law and obligations on engineers.
Presenter Information
Joe Bain (PhD, CPEng) is a Project Engineer at Motovated Design and Analysis in Christchurch, where his practice centres on mechanical engineering safety with respect to plant and machinery, and seismic design of mechanical equipment. His day to day work involves design and certification of mechanical systems, risk management and health and safety by design consultation. Joe is also periodically engaged as an expert witness by Worksafe NZ.
Joe holds a PhD and honours degree in mechanical engineering from Canterbury University. He was the foundation Chair of the New Zealand Society for Safety Engineering, and has recently returned to the Chair’s role. He has also previously served on the leadership team of the Health and Safety Association of New Zealand, and the committee of the Maintenance Engineering Society of New Zealand.