In this episode of Risk! Engineers Talk Governance, Richard Robinson and Gaye Francis discuss the importance of safety culture for women's personal protective equipment (PPE) in the workplace. 

Gaye shares her experience of encountering ill-fitting and uncomfortable PPE during her consulting career, which led her to advocate for better-fitting PPE for women. She explains the journey of founding Apto PPE, a women's and maternity fit-for-purpose safety workwear business, with the support of R2A. They discuss the challenges of getting proper fitting PPE for women in the market and the slow uptake of these options. 

They also highlight the importance of organisations prioritising the safety of women onsite; that from a WHS/OHS legislation perspective the objective is to achieve the highest level of protection, organisations need to ask: “Is this reasonably practicable?” The answer should be “Why not?”; not “Why would we?” 

 
For more information on Apto PPE head to www.aptoppe.com.au.


For information on Richard and Gaye's due diligence work, head to www.r2a.com.au.

In this episode of Risk! Engineers Talk Governance, due diligence engineers Richard Robinson and Gaye Francis discuss whether the WHS legislation and Risk Management Standards have hindered critical thinking in organisations. 

They observe that some organisations have become stagnant and resistant to change, relying on third-party consultants to handle risk management instead of actively engaging in the process themselves. They emphasise that risk management should be a line management function and that organisations need to adopt processes and procedures rather than simply outsourcing them. 

They also discuss the importance of curiosity in risk management and the need for organisations to embrace a variety of tools and techniques to gain different insights into risk issues. They caution against relying solely on single processes and techniques, as they may not capture all potential risks, particularly rare critical ones. 

If you have any feedback, please email the team at [email protected].

For more information on Richard & Gaye’s consulting work, head to www.r2a.com.au.

In this episode of Risk! Engineers Talk Governance, due diligence engineers Richard Robinson and Gaye Francis discuss Safety Integrity Level (SIL) allocation and its implications under WHS legislation. 

They discuss their long history of working with IEC /AS 61508 and that their biggest caution is around Part 5 because it uses target levels of risk and safety as the basis for the SIL allocations. 

They share that they’ve seen SIL ratings work really well and, at other times, where there's been a misunderstanding of what SIL is. They explain the importance of getting the context right, put your hazard in, identify what your critical hazard is, and then look at all the controls that can be put in place. And often they're the civil design sort of things and mechanical designs before you even go to the electronic systems.

If you’d like more information about Richard and Gaye’s work, head to www.r2a.com.au

In this episode of Risk! Engineers Talk Governance, due diligence engineers Richard Robinson and Gaye Francis discuss the journey to WHS (Work Health and Safety) criminalisation and the evolution of the risk management profession over the past few decades.  

Richard discusses his working history and experience watching the application of risk management change from the 1980s to 2010s from engineers to psychologists and culture, to the lawyers.

They highlight the increase in prosecutions in the last 18 months under WHS legislation, particularly targeting small and medium-sized organisations, and recent cases, such as the Dreamworld incident and the White Island explosion, with the introduction of criminal manslaughter provisions. 

Overall, Richard and Gaye emphasise the importance of considering all reasonable practical precautions to ensure safety in organisations, rather than solely relying on compliance audits. 

If you’d like further information on Richard and Gaye’s work as due diligence engineers, head to www.r2a.com.au.

In this episode of Risk! Engineers Talk Governance, due diligence engineers Richard Robinson and Gaye Francis discuss their work as change agents for safety culture. They reflect on feedback after a recent presentation at the Australasian Marine Pilots Institute (AMPI) Conference, and how they reflected their importance in reminding industry of how to review safety.

They discuss that engineering is about driving change to improve safety, and that's what they at R2A do. Engineers are not supposed to do the same thing again and again and just focus on Standards. That you need to design for what you need to do and then you check against the standard to make sure you haven't missed anything. 

If you’d like to learn more about R2A and Richard and Gaye’s work, head to www.r2a.com.au.

This episode also touches on Apto PPE, Gaye’s women’s and maternity PPE range which you can find out more about at www.aptoppe.com.au

In this episode of Risk! Engineers Talk Governance, due diligence engineers Richard Robinson and Gaye Francis discuss project governance due diligence. 

They highlight their unique approach that has incorporated a military intelligence approach and the importance of focusing on critical success outcomes and vulnerabilities rather than threats. The also emphasise the need for early involvement of key stakeholders. They also discuss the airport rail link project in Victoria and the Commonwealth Games in Victoria, and touch on the limitations of Monte Carlo simulations in identifying high consequence, low likelihood events. 

For further information on Richard & Gaye's work, including their Project Due Dilligence booklet, head to www.r2a.com.au

In this episode of Risk! Engineers Talk Governance, Richard Robinson and Gaye Francis discuss the continuing controversy surrounding ALARP (As Low As Reasonably Practicable) and SFAIRP (So Far As Is Reasonably Practicable) and explain why they believe there is a difference between the two concepts. 

They also recap (further to E1 S2) their experience at a recent VCAT case in Victoria where major hazards were assessed based on consequence rather than quantified risk. They conclude that ALARP no longer exists in Victoria - something they're very happy about. 

Please note, it is important to consult with your legal counsel and if they're comfortable with the approach and the method for technical issues. 

For further information on Richard & Gaye's consulting work, head to www.r2a.com.au

In this episode of Risk! Engineers Talk Governance podcast, due diligence engineers Richard Robinson and Gaye Francis discuss a recent case they were involved in as expert witnesses at the VCAT Tribunal. The case involved a young couple who wanted to build two townhouses on a property that was within a major hazard facility contour line. The local council rejected their planning permit based on advice from WorkSafe. The couple sought help from R2A (Richard & Gaye's consulting business), who advised them on safety measures to address the hazards associated with the facility. 

The episode also discusses the importance of safety in design and how implementing safety in design measures in new developments near major hazard facilities can lead to a safer and more resilient community.

For more information on Richard & Gaye due diligence engineering www.r2a.com.au or for their women's & maternity workwear range www.aptoppe.com.au.

In this final episode of Season 1 of Risk! Engineers Talk Governance, due diligence engineers Gaye Francis & Richard Robinson discuss one of the topics they are asked most: ISO 31000, the Risk Management Standard. 

They outline the consequences of ISO 31000 that it does not meet the requirements of the WHS Legislation/OHS Act in Australia & New Zealand, that organisations cannot keep using target levels of risk and safety to make safety decisions -- you can use it as a reporting tool.

For more information on Richard & Gaye's due diligence consulting work, head to www.r2a.com.au.

Gaye is also founder of Apto PPE www.aptoppe.com.au that sells fit-for-purpose women’s and maternity safety workwear.

In this episode of Risk! Engineers Talk Governance, due diligence engineers Gaye Francis & Richard Robinson discuss the contest of ideas and if Australia has gone backwards in embracing SFAIRP. They also observe how many Australian Standards contradict WHS legislation/OHS Act and how Standards appear to be stopping people and organisations demonstrating SFAIRP.

For more information on Richard & Gaye's due diligence consulting work, head to www.r2a.com.au.

Gaye is also founder of Apto PPE www.aptoppe.com.au that sells fit-for-purpose women’s and maternity safety workwear.