Author Archives: Scotty Cam

Why talk is cheap when it comes to safety in the workplace

sc

Scott Cam, SafetyCulture ambassador, shares his wake-up call and why one incident in the workplace is one too many.

It seems strange to say this now but safety wasn’t a big priority when I started out in the carpentry game back in the 1970s. There were no OHS guidelines and safety managers cracking down in high-vis. It wasn’t that people didn’t care, but there was a job to be done and you just got on with it.

I worked on the tools as a residential carpenter, starting out as a 17-year-old and still carrying a nail bag when I was 50. It’s a dangerous job if you don’t have your wits about you at all times, so it’s no surprise that I’ve seen plenty of accidents over the years. I’ve had my own scrapes too. I remember one time when I fell off a two-story roof because there was no guardrail. Thankfully I fell onto a hill, rolled to the bottom, got up and went back to work.

On another occasion I nearly cut a finger off with a band saw and had to have it sewn back on. I’ve seen my brother and plenty of other blokes lose fingers, and I’ve had more than 100 stitches over the years. It seems like we were getting stitched up all the time when I think back now. It was just part of the job.

Thankfully people are much more safety conscious than when I started plying my trade. But for all the talk around safety, we can still do better. It was a realisation that really hit home once I had people working for me. I was acutely aware of the need to make sure my teams made it home at the end of each day. And that responsibility went beyond putting up posters. It required the right tools and training to make happen. This was hard to find.

I still remember a tragic case in Western Sydney back in 2009 when a 19-year-old collapsed and died with heat stroke after installing insulation. He hadn’t had any training.

As a father of three, I couldn’t help thinking about one of them going off to work one morning and not coming back. One of my boys is an engineer who regularly goes up and down scaffolding on construction sites. The thought shook me. Words alone weren’t enough, we needed action.

At the end of the day, construction is still a dangerous trade. Tragic accidents are still happening, like the 23-year-old who was killed after falling through a roof at Curtin University late last year. Now we’ve got the pandemic, which has made every workplace high risk. It’s not just worksites anymore. One missed step in COVID-safe processes now puts your people at risk of transmission.

I’m glad to see how young people are stepping up when it comes to safety, COVID-related or otherwise. They are focused on safety rather than being told to be safe. It makes a difference when people own things.

This is something we must encourage. There’s nothing more disheartening than raising an issue and having it get lost in the shuffle. Having a say needs to be met with robust incident reporting and decisive action — that’s what will keep us all accountable.

Now more than ever, traditional top-down compliance models should be replaced by ones giving workers more control. It’s the front-line employees, not the executives, who actually deal with each and every safety process. As the eyes on the ground, they are better placed to improve and drive safety practices. But they need to be given the right tools and conditions to drive it.

First published on SafetyCulture.com

Fishing Cabin – Stage 1

IMG_1844 (1)I had an old dam in the middle of the property about 15 mins drive from the homestead. I thought I needed to fill that with trout fingerlings and build a fishing cabin and that’s exactly what I did.

I had a bit of level ground to the side of the dam, so I cleaned that up with a machine and was ready to go with the piers. I dug a small hole to lay in a brick footing ready for the brick piers. Remember this is bush carpentry, quite isolated and no power. I laid the bricks in drizzly rain but absolutely loved it. Take a look.

IMG_1843

 

 

HIA feature article

My apprenticeship was one of the best things I ever did. And I’m proud to be an ambassador for HIA, encouraging the next generation to get stuck into trades.

 

WTW SC article

 

 

Related: News/Press

Scotty’s Top Aussie Sheds is out now!

My book, Scotty's Top Aussie Sheds, is available in stores and online now! I love spending time in my sheds, sometimes doing absolutely zip. Just having a beer, looking around, turning random things on and off, sanding a bit of timber for no ... [read more]

Think Pink this Mother’s Day

My mates at Bisley Workwear have teamed up with the National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF) to create their Bisley Pink Range. They’ll be donating $3 from the sale of each Pink Shirt to the NBCF, so let’s throw on some pink for all the women ... [read more]

Rubbish Piles

20171125_220019

Council Clean ups, hard rubbish day, whatever you like to call them. I always loved it when the unwanted treasures went out on the street. I used to bring home all sorts of stuff and my father would go crook on me for filling up his garage with this so called “rubbish”. Still to this day I slow down around rubbish piles. Four days ago I picked up some great solid timber shelves for the garage. I’m using them for the car wash gear. The coffee table in our TV room, I found on the side of the road, as a work bench. I cleaned it up, cut the legs down, sanded it and gave it a lick of varnish. That was 25 years ago and it’s still a ripper.

20171116_140938

 

Related: Interest Stories

Beach Buggy

With kids, a dog, brolly, water, newspapers and deckchairs, walking to the beach, down at the south coast was a punish. I looked like a homeless bloke carrying all of his possessions. I needed some transport. So I went to the tip and salvaged a w ... [read more]

Billy Carts

When you’re 10 years old you need transport to get yourself to the shops, social occasions, the park, so you need the next best thing to a ute, The Billy Cart. Very simple procedure. Wait for the council clean up, find a pram and pinch the whee ... [read more]

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beach Buggy

IMG_2534

With kids, a dog, brolly, water, newspapers and deckchairs, walking to the beach, down at the south coast was a punish. I looked like a homeless bloke carrying all of his possessions. I needed some transport. So I went to the tip and salvaged a whole bunch of gear. A golf buggy, a crisper draw from a fridge, a milk crate. Add a bit of rope from the shed, a few other things and hey presto, the beach buggy was born. It does the job holding all my gear and more. I love it. I’m very proud of it and all the other beach goers are jealous ……. I think?

IMG_2535

 

Related: Interest Stories

Billy Carts

When you’re 10 years old you need transport to get yourself to the shops, social occasions, the park, so you need the next best thing to a ute, The Billy Cart. Very simple procedure. Wait for the council clean up, find a pram and pinch the whee ... [read more]

Fire Pit

There’s nothing finer than cooking a meal in a fire pit. We did it in our normal wood fired barby so often that I decided to build a dedicated fire pit. I get the fire going about 3pm and keep burning fuel until about 6, then we’ve got a good ... [read more]

Xmas Time

IMG_3065

As a child I loved the excitement of Xmas eve and waiting to wake up in the morning to see my pressies. Now, Xmas time is all about relaxing with my family, enjoying a beer, while watching the cricket on the tele and the food, especially the perfect pork crackling that I seem to achieve without fail. Check out my recipe here.

20171125_124035 20171125_125448 20171125_125544

 

Related: Interest Stories

Fishing

I love to fish. It started when I was a kid, fishing from a tinnie with my brother and sister. Then we progressed to rock fishing off the cliffs, with my mates, a couple of early mornings each week before school. We used to get some terrif ... [read more]

Zyliss Classic Food Chopper

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYuBL9xQOZ4 A couple of weeks ago I did have a Zyliss sort of onion-puller thing which I struggled with a little bit. I found another gadget from Zyliss in the cupboard, I forgot about it, I've had it for like 10 year ... [read more]

12 Sheds of Xmas #12

16ac5c45a46fcc136b50770a25a9ed88

#12 in my 12 Sheds of Xmas, I love listening to my music and there’s no better place to play all your old favourites than in your shed, where no one can hear you singing off key.

07d871d54e8e7a1282bf6d309d34b134 6e5d01cb0ac7b7bec01999ba59ade363 08b83d0e0ca46e5275d771557514353c 8f7351299f50ff9338269010ce49b19e

 

Related: 12 Sheds of Xmas

12 Sheds of Xmas #11

#11 in my 12 Sheds of Xmas I'm not one to pick sides when it comes to the Holden v Ford debate but I always appreciate people's passion for motorsport and history. Good on ya. [scotty_sign] [display-posts id='2641, 2609' title='Rela ... [read more]

12 Sheds of Xmas #1

#1 in my 12 Sheds of Xmas comes from Trevor Kent in NSW. Trevor is a man that's after my own heart, just look at his tools and how beautifully arranged they are - can't say the same about my own. [scotty_sign] [display-posts id='2428 ... [read more]

12 Sheds of Xmas #11

bb188d484adbadba9a4962fe72d13944

#11 in my 12 Sheds of Xmas I’m not one to pick sides when it comes to the Holden v Ford debate but I always appreciate people’s passion for motorsport and history. Good on ya.

025da8375226fb8590199654122c233c

853d0f8bcad026b96d8390b9beb1fb51 7545a581fc89ce03216790b7d4264140 4a8282e83cb6020bbb785202f65802c2

 

Related: 12 Sheds of Xmas

12 Sheds of Xmas #12

#12 in my 12 Sheds of Xmas, I love listening to my music and there's no better place to play all your old favourites than in your shed, where no one can hear you singing off key. [scotty_sign] [display-posts id='2419, 2623' title='Re ... [read more]

12 Sheds of Xmas #10

#10 in my 12 Sheds of Xmas this is what the shed is all about, a space to do all those DIY projects. Tools, check. Space to put your cuppa, check. [scotty_sign] [display-posts id='2623, 2582' title='Related: 12 Sheds of Xmas' post_ ... [read more]

 

12 Sheds of Xmas #10

c67b0885df921b29882ec211c16f1784

#10 in my 12 Sheds of Xmas this is what the shed is all about, a space to do all those DIY projects. Tools, check. Space to put your cuppa, check.

e980e7adc095be722ee42fd17c9514c9 c5eafa892c47a7dec66e449ffb7e1d1a 822ce21452bed35edd0d3e934c1571e3 461dfb6f561667613ce6336dcaabfa36 44f51baa414fd7be90d87e0b2fb6fd4b 6a7c15e97ce530be859507379f9ee0a7

 

Related: 12 Sheds of Xmas

12 Sheds of Xmas #11

#11 in my 12 Sheds of Xmas I'm not one to pick sides when it comes to the Holden v Ford debate but I always appreciate people's passion for motorsport and history. Good on ya. [scotty_sign] [display-posts id='2641, 2609' title='Rela ... [read more]

12 Sheds of Xmas #9

  #9 In my 12 Sheds of Xmas is a childhood dream come true. If you step in here you just might not come out again, as there's too much to play around with. [scotty_sign] [display-posts id='2609, 2552' title='Related: 12 Sheds of ... [read more]