Occupational Health and Safety Forum

The idea behind the online Health and Safety forum was borne out of the success of the regular monthly OHS meetings, which are held at the Association's premises in Westville every second month. These meetings are well co-ordinated and supported, with attendance figures often close to the 100 mark. However, there was no platform to continue discussions initiated, between meetings.

Master Builders KwaZulu-Natal therefore launched the Occupational Health and Safety online forum, which now enables anyone in Southern Africa with an interest in Construction Health and Safety, to interact with other like-minded people 24 hours a day, from the comfort of their office/home.

The objectives of this OHS Online Forum are two-fold:

• To provide an online forum for Health and Safety Officers to discuss Health and Safety related issues, equipment and resources. This forum will, in itself, be a valuable resource and source of information to Health and Safety Professionals and other interested parties.
• To serve as an Advertising Channel for the Association's Advertising Hub, thereby linking Health and Safety Professionals with Health and Safety product and service vendors.

The OHS forum runs on an industry-leading software platform and has a live feed into various pages of the Masterbuilders.co.za website. Although users need to register to post, access to the forum is open and free for anyone who has an interest in Health and Safety. The decision to open up the online forum to persons outside of Master Builders KwaZulu-Natal, was taken to allow for an additional pool of contributors to share knowledge and add value. This will increase the value of the forum and ultimately contribute towards a Healthier and Safer workplace environment.

Frequency

The Forum is accessible 24 hours a day

Subscription - Forum Members

Membership is Free.  Members include; Registered Health and Safety Professionals in the Construction Industry, Health and Safety Members and Industry Stakeholders

Forum Stats

The following statistics are automatically produced by vBulletin or are taken from Google Analytics, a software program that gives us accurate data on a wide range of analytical information. (Stats at end May 2010)

• Forum officially launched at the beginning of April 2009
• Over 350 Registered Users - New users registering daily

Global Forum Advertiser - R7500 per month (Excl. VAT)

• Permanent Banner Ad (468 x 60) at the top of every page of the forum - run of forum
  Link from Banner Ad to own website
• Free Banner Ad design
• Opportunity to appoint one Moderator to the Forum and participate in Forum threads by answering questions and posting useful and relevant information.
• Headline sponsor will be promoted by Forum Admin and the Master Builders Association
• 1 Slot available on a first come first serve basis
• Forum Advertiser - R7500 (Excl. VAT)

Forum Advertiser - R997 to R2997 (Excl. VAT)

• Permanent Banner Ad (468 x 60) at the top of every page of the specific forum (e.g. Education, Training and Promotion Forum - see SAIOSH banner above)
• Link from Banner Ad to own website
• Opportunity to appoint one Moderator to the that Forum
• Advertising cost varies from forum to forum and is based on the level of participation within the forum.
• Some of the Forums available:
  • General Health and Safety Discussions
  • Education, Training and Promotion
  • Personal Protective Equipment and Clothing
  • Scaffolding, Formwork and Support work
  • Ladders
  • Fall Protection
  • Electrical Safeguarding
  • Emergency / Fire Prevention and Protection
  • Excavation
  • Tools
  • Cranes
  • Transport and Material Handling
  • Site Plant and Machinery
• Forum Advertiser - R997 to R2997 (Excl. VAT)