Graeme Samuel AC, among his many roles,  is a Professorial Fellow in Monash University’s Business School and School of Public Health and Preventative Medicine. I worked at the ACCC when Graeme was Chair. Since 2014 he has held the position of Chair of Dementia Australia, the national peak body for people impacted by dementia. As an advocate of good design, I was keen to hear about how products and environments can be designed to meet the needs of people living with dementia. Before we got to that, Graeme explained a lot about different types of dementia and their effects. 

A recording of the product safety panel at the 2019 national consumer congress.

The session is moderated by the Deputy Chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. Three leading commentators, including Product Safety Solutions’ Gail Greatorex, offer insights into the state of product safety in Australia.

How do you know what’s in your products? Which companies are supplying the component parts? Who’s provided them with the raw materials? Have independent checks been done along the way? How can you manage the myriad actions and transactions that go into your product? ICIX is a global company that enables transparency throughout the supply chain.

In this interview, Matt explains the value of whole-of-system transparency using data systems, compared with product traceability.

We all share responsibility to keep children safe.

In this podcast Gail Greatorex of Product Safety Solutions in Melbourne, Australia talks with David Schwebel, Professor of Psychology, and Associate Dean for Research in the Sciences at University of Alabama at Birmingham.

David begins by talking about a series of tragic toddler deaths and how his research led to important changes in the design of a product.

David and Gail then discuss the need to think about how children perceive and interact with products.

David also talks about work he has done on the vigilance of swimming pool guards, and how this has lessons for supervision in other activities.

A transcript of the interview and links to research mentioned in the podcast are available at www.productsafetysolutions.com.au

Gail Greatorex talks with Dr Jeremy Opperer, Senior Manager, Mechanical Engineering at American engineering and scientific consulting firm, Exponent

Gail interviewed Jeremy at the International Product Safety Week in Brussels November 2016 and discusses how he approaches product safety compliance and how he would conduct a safety assessment on a clients’ products.

Topics include:

• Addressing the safety issues for innovative products where little guidance is available with no historical injury data, and where standards may not apply. 
• How the Internet of Things may affect future product safety issues
• Factoring safety into product design 
• Managing risk in consumer product safety
• Communicating safety or recall messages, especially to millenials

Gail Greatorex talks with Tim Wain, who’s had a long association with product safety in the infant and children’s product field. Tim now runs Australia’s Pregnancy Babies and Children’s Expo.

In the first part, Tim talks about how the Expo provides both an avenue to educate parents on product safety, and a means to learn about consumer behaviour patterns at a pivotal time in their lives.

In the latter part, Tim and Gail talk about suppliers’ attitude to product safety and whether their first response is still to blame users when injuries happen.

Stuart Bocking, morning presenter, Radio 2UE, Sydney,Australia,interviews Gail Greatorex of Product Safety Solutionsabout theIKEA chest of drawers safety issue. This was in relationto several tip-over fatalities in the US. Gail explained thatfurniture tip-overs are a hazard in any home with small children.For furtherinformation see: Furniture tip-overs safety strategy

Gail Greatorex of Product Safety Solutions interviews

• Dr Ruth Barker - Emergency Paediatric Specialist at Mater Children’s Hospital, Brisbane and Director of the Queensland Injury Surveillance Unit Dr Barker assisted the Coroner in his investigation

• Dr Kirsten Vallmuur - Associate Professor at Queensland University of Technology Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety (CARRS-Q)

• Natalie Stewart– QUT CARRS-Q Honours student researching issues associated with button battery safety

In this podcast, Gail Greatorex talks with Professor Joan Ozanne-Smith, Head of the Prevention Research Unit at Monash University's Department of Forensic Medicine. The interview took place at the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine where the department is co-located.

In this podcast Gail Greatorex talks with Martin Rushton, Principal Advisor for Trading Standards and Product Safety in the New Zealand Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. Martin talks about key safety principles and gives some real life examples on how safety considerations can impact business.