In this episode Dr. Julia Norris, Current AIOH President & Medical Director at Occuhealth joins us to discuss the Australian Institute of Occupational Hygienists (AIOH), who they are and what they do.

The Australian Institute of Occupational Hygienists is a professional body representing the interests of occupational hygienists in Australia. Their mission is to promote and preserve the health and wellbeing of Australian workers through application of the knowledge, practice and standing of occupational health and hygiene.

Guest Bio:

Dr. Julia Norris is the founder and CEO of Occuhealth, having started the company in 1999. Julia is a certified occupational hygienist and medical doctor with a special interest in preventative occupational health. Julia has extensive site based industry experience, which combined with her medical knowledge and experience, give her a unique skill set with which to persue better occupational health outcomes for all workers.

Julia continues to contribute to the strategic direction of Occuhealth whilst continuing her new career as a General Practitioner.

Julia was inducted into AIOH as a Fellow in 2010, an honour she greatly values. Julia is also the President of the Grow Smart Foundation Ltd, a health promotion charity educating young children about the dangers of noise induced hearing loss from personal music players.

LinkedIn Profile

 

In this episode, Mark & Julia discuss the following:

• Who are the AIOH and what is their objective?
• How long have they been around for?
• Why is occupational hygiene important to workplaces today?
• What does being an occupational hygienist mean to you?
• As the current president of the AIOH, what does that role entail?
• How else does the AIOH impact workers and workplaces in Australia?
• Do other countries have similar associations like the AIOH with similar objectives to protect worker health?
• Where can workplaces or occupational hygienists go to get work information on the AIOH and Occupational Hygiene in general?

Having been around for over 40 years the AIOH and its members are very active both locally and internationally in the recognition, evaluation and control of hazards in the workplace. Their focus is on prevention, stopping people from becoming unhealthy and unwell at work, looking for anything that can cause illness and disease, as opposed to injury. Occupational Hygienists play a vital role in raising awareness of potential dangers. They investigate workplaces, identify everything that can cause harm, assess whether there’s a risk, and if there is, implement control measures to ensure a healthy working environment. Tune in as we discover what the AIOH do to impact workers and workplaces to create healthier, safer working environments, ensuring that everybody goes home from work just as healthy as what they arrived.

Additional Resources:

• Podcast Transcript
• Australian Institute of Occupational Hygienists (AIOH)
• New Zealand Occupational Hygiene Society (NZOHS)
• British Occupational Hygiene Society (BOHS)
• American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA)
• International Occupational Hygiene Association (IOHA) – What is Occupational Hygiene?

Contact a 3M Safety Specialist at scienceofsafetyanz@mmm.com for more information.