Health & safety at work act: intro for engineers

This module is free of charge to Engineering New Zealand members.

Engineers are the designers, project managers, and reviewers of plant, substances, and structures. This means that they are in a pivotal position to influence health and safety and reduce the risk and severity of harm for the end users of their work. In Aotearoa New Zealand, the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 outlines key concepts and obligations that engineers must work to, and this introductory module introduces the key things you need to know to comply with the Act in your work.

Learning outcomes

Participants will be able to:

• Explain the importance of health and safety in the work of an engineer.
• Explain the principles of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015.
• Demonstrate an understanding of how the Principles of the Act apply to engineering practice.
• Describe duties of worker engagement for safety, and the potential commercial benefits of this.

Explain what is meant by 'PCBU', 'upstream duties', and 'health and safety by design' in the context of the role of an engineer.

Intended audience

This course is designed for any engineer who needs to know about HSWA 2015.

Course format

This is a self-directed learning module that learners work through at their own pace. Content is presented through a mix of reading, interactive activities to check your understanding, short video, and self-reflection points where you can make notes to refer back to after you've finished the module.

Presenter information

Dr Joseph Bain is the Operations Director at Motovated Design & Analysis, in Christchurch. He holds a PhD and BE(Hons) in Mechanical Engineering from Canterbury University, and is a Chartered Professional Engineer. Joe’s professional practice focusses on safety-related engineering, including machinery safety, mobile plant safety, hazardous substances management and seismic resistance of plant. He is routinely engaged as an expert witness after safety events which hinge on engineering causes.

Joe is a co-founder of the NZ Society for Safety Engineering, an ENZ technical group, and has previously served as the Chair of this group. Joe is also the course facilitator for the existing ENZ course introducing the Health and Safety at Work Act. He currently represents Engineering NZ on the governance board of HASANZ, the Health and Safety Association of New Zealand.