Building Connection Spring 2018

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8 BUILDING CONNECTION Spring 2019
INDUSTRY NEWS
TIMBER INDUSTRY UPDATES
MESSAGING TO YOUR CUSTOMERS
The natural warmth and durability
of timber is something building
designers, builders and carpenters are
drawn to. But that doesn’t mean the
sector can sit on its hands and wait for
business to walk through the door.
Other material choices including
steel and concrete are going their
hardest to position their offerings
as being responsible environmental
choices.
The Forest & Wood Products
Australia (FWPA) organisation, which
speaks for all timber species sectors
and imports, has been looking to
updating its marketing message.
The culmination of this work sees
the FWPA launching The Ultimate
Renewable as its branding for the
future. A ‘renewable product’ offers
a strong message in this day and age
that the public relates to.
“By reinforcing the association
between wood and the word
‘renewable’, we are aiming to
encourage the community to embrace
forest and wood products across the
supply chain,” says FWPA national
marketing and communications
manager Eileen Newbury.
Expect to see a lot more
representations of ‘Wood the Ultimate
Renewable’ on timber product
branding soon.
AUGMENTED REALITY CONSTRUCTION
SAFETY GUIDES
Pro-Visual Publishing has worked
with partner Master Builders
Association of Western Australia, Civil
Contractors Federation and Victorian
Building Authority to release its latest
editions of the Augmented Reality
(AR) WA Construction Site Safety
Guide and VIC Construction Site
Safety Guide.
They are distributed free of charge
Australia-wide.
The wall-mountable printed guide
is designed to be displayed in a place
that is accessible and visible to
construction workers. Considering the
high fatality rate in the construction
industry, having a resource that is
informative and provides safety
guidance is important in maintaining
the safety of workers on-site.
The topics for each of this year’s
guides have been carefully selected
and are issues pertinent to the
industry in regards to health and
safety. Some topics include, working
at heights, traffic management plans
and dangerous respirable chemicals.
Once again, AR is a feature on
both guides this year, providing an
engaging user experience. The aim
of the AR is create another way
for workers to interact with safety
information, contributing to increased
retention. By simply downloading the
free Pro-Vis AR app and scanning over
any AR capable content, users can
access further safety information
straight to their smart device, for
example, videos and web-links to
further information resources.
“I would like to thank all the
sponsors of the WA Construction
Site Safety Guide 2019/20 and VIC
Construction Site Safety Guide
2019/20. Their support has made
it possible for the guide to be
distributed free of charge,” says Pro-
Visual Publishing CEO John Hutchings.
For further information, or to
obtain additional copies of the Guide,
please call (02) 8272 2611, email
or visit
DRUG TESTING METHODS REVISED
In order to increase safety and
reliability, a revised standard guiding
the detection of drugs in oral fluids
has been developed. It aims to improve
onsite drug testing across several
sectors of the economy.
Mobile drug testing is increasingly
more common, with police conducting
up to 200,000 roadside drug tests
each year in NSW by the year
20201. However, drug testing is
also becoming more common and
widespread in a range of industries
such as mining, construction and
transport.
Standards Australia has been
working with industry bodies and
community members to update the
standard for drug testing to ensure
methods are up-to-date and deliver
results consistent with community
expectations.
“A number of occupations are
involved in regular drug testing as part
of achieving a safer workplace. Given
the nature of the work at the centre of
these tests, there is a strong interest
in accurate results,” says Standards
Australia acting CEO Adrian O’Connell.
AS/NZS 4760:2019, Procedure
for specimen collection and the
detection and quantitation of drugs
in oral fluid, has been published with
a clear commitment of results and
safety. The standard highlights the
latest methods of detecting drugs in
saliva, which is particularly useful for
law enforcement agencies as well as
groups conducting local drug testing
at major events like music festivals.
“This has been a very important
area of work for us for some time. This
revision has been built with regard to
the latest technology and scientific
developments to benefit to our
community,” says Adrian.
Organisations performing onsite
drug testing stand to benefit most,
given the improvements provided
by this standard for the detection
of drugs using oral fluids, according
to Chair of the Standards Australia
Technical Committee responsible
for the revised standard Dr Michael
Robertson.
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