Costly hangover for Kimberley Ports welder

[Stefan]

Construction project I work on has a breathalizer at the gate, need to blow in it to get into the gate. swipe ID card, blow in the machine. If it registers any % an email gets sent straight to Project Director and Safety Manager with id card details.

Nothing random anymore...

[jpblue1000]

Originally Posted by OCTANEBOSS

Some of our pollies, business people, company leaders drink on the job on a regular basis and they are working. Personally dont think that is right. Good for the goose, good for the gander, thats pretty much my point.

have good one

Cheers

Difference between BAC for those operating dangerous machinery and those sitting in an office is the usual checks and balances. in an office a drunk decision usually must pas through several other hands before its a dramatic outcome.
I don't think God offers a checks and balances service if heavy machinery is out of control.
Im not admonishing office drinkers just saying.
Id be lost 'sober' at work!

JP

[2011G6E]

Originally Posted by Stefan

Construction project I work on has a breathalizer at the gate, need to blow in it to get into the gate. swipe ID card, blow in the machine. If it registers any % an email gets sent straight to Project Director and Safety Manager with id card details.

Nothing random anymore...

One of my brother in laws was working at a mine in WA about eight years ago which has the same thing...before you even got in the gate you had to blow in the machine and swipe a card to get in. Blow anything but zero and it was pack your bags and go, straight to the medical station and get a proper blood test. Again, if you went over zero, see ya later, they'll have your final pay paperwork in the office, been nice having you...

They apparently did it after some serious accidents and also a nasty death in which alcohol was a contributing factor.

Really...look, I don't drink at all, so help me understand...
You really either can't do without a drink at work, or simply must drink every night when you know you'll have to be at work in a few hours and can't use any self-control on your intake, so expect the workplace to just give you leeway and let you possibly endanger your workmates by still being under the weather to some extent...?

Wow...it's right then what they say that Australia has a "drinking culture" where access to booze is more important than anything else...

[FGX335]

It's the same with people who steal from their workplace, where the amount stolen is worth a couple of days pay. Is it really worth your job for that???

[danzvtil]

Originally Posted by Big Damo

I don't advocate getting wasted, but if you want to have a beer or rum or two with some food in my workshop be my guest.

Your attitude towards alcohol consumption in your workplace belongs to yesterday.
Unlike the days of yore, you know your guys are consuming booze on the work premises, if they have a mishap on site or have a prang on the way home, the finger will be pointed at you. You are responsible for their health and wellbeing.
Some people don't like it but that's the way it is.

[GasoLane]

Originally Posted by danzvtil

Your attitude towards alcohol consumption in your workplace belongs to yesterday.
Unlike the days of yore, you know your guys are consuming booze on the work premises, if they have a mishap on site or have a prang on the way home, the finger will be pointed at you. You are responsible for their health and wellbeing.
Some people don't like it but that's the way it is.

Damo forgot to mention that their are only two people working there, and they both own the place.

He probably meant customers.

[Feathers]

I'm a bus driver. Though we're limited to 0.02 (to cover some medications - though you must have a valid prescription, and a letter from your doctor to justify taking the medication), I simply won't drink if I have to drive in the next 24 hours. It's not worth it.

The other weekend I went to a "family" BBQ, where it seemed like everyone was drinking to get plastered. I was over being there about 15 minutes after walking in.
They thought they were SO smart, but they just came across as pathetic. Even the "adults" twice my age!
Like the bogan mother who admonished her recently-turned-18-year-old daughter on having "wasted time" since her birthday, because she hadn't been drunk yet... so they plied her with alcohol.
I had to go and pick up Dad from a bus driving job nearby (Defqon), and return him to the site later that night, so I refused to drink anything but bottled water or soft drink cans I opened myself, despite these morons trying to talk me into having "just one" of whatever they were mixing.

On the way home, I got pulled up for an RBT and drug testing, and I didn't have to worry about if I might have been near to or over the limit. I don't understand why people risk it.

[ebxr8240]

When is this going to apply for Centrelink ?

[vztrt]

Originally Posted by ebxr8240

When is this going to apply for Centrelink ?

Because testing pensioners gets tricky as they can blame medication.

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by GasOLane

Damo forgot to mention that their are only two people working there, and they both own the place.

He probably meant customers.

Customers and my business partner if he wants, he usually only has one or two towards the end of the day on a Friday.

Customers get invited up for BBQs, we have one every week on a Friday.

[Trevor 57]

A bit more of the story

The welder who failed a random breath test at 8.30 am after admitting to consuming 20 cans of full-strength beer over 12 hours on Australia Day. He had gone to bed at 10:30 pm and attended work on January 27 at 6.00 am.

Despite the worker saying he felt fine, he blew 0.026% and was in breach of the company’s 0.00% fitness for work (FFW) policy.

The Kimberley Ports Authority (KPA) dismissed the welder and the Fair Work Commission upheld the company’s decision.

Before Commissioner Danny Cloghan, the welder argued his breach of the policy was a first-time offence and a genuine mistake, the breath test uncovered only a minor alcohol reading which posed no safety risk, and his dismissal was disproportionate.

But KPA maintained that its actions were consistent with its policy, especially given the potential safety risk, coupled with the fact that the welder had a blood alcohol reading of 0.020% nearly three hours after the initial test.

It claimed that its workforce was aware that two employees had been dismissed in August last year for similar breaches, and a third was sacked for a first-time offence in December.
The commissioner noted that KPA's firm position on safety was further illustrated by its provision of self-testing breath alcohol equipment at the worksite, which the welder had failed to use on the morning he was randomly tested.

"Alcohol and safety on the waterfront do not mix. I understand, as I am sure the employees at the KPA understand, the potential for workplace accidents increases when alcohol is in the blood stream of employees.

"The FFW Policy's simple objective is to make the workplace safer, the Policy is one way of achieving that objective. [The welder] breached the Policy in very disapproving circumstances."

[TheSneakiness]

Originally Posted by 2011G6E

Wow...it's right then what they say that Australia has a "drinking culture" where access to booze is more important than anything else...

Yep and I for one hate it. I hate the fact that the meaning for most of our public holidays is overtaken for those who MUST drink alcohol on those days.

I find those who must drink have minimal to no will power, same goes for smokers. It's definitely a mental thing, my doctor explained to me yesterday with an analogy for changing my way of thinking with fast food as a treat. She said do you like the taste and does it satisfy you to which I said well no, not really.

"So why do it?"

Let's apply that to alcohol. Do you like the taste of it? If you do, then you do like having the hangover that goes with it? If not, why do it?

Don't jeopardise what you've worked for in life by being stupid with your vices...