10:08 pm, Monday 9 December, 2013

Operations were suspended at the oldest operating mine in Australia today after two workers fell more than 20 metres down a mine shaft. The mine is located on the Tasmanian west coast.

The workers, both fitters aged 25 and 45, both died from the injuries they received in the fall which was deep underground.

A police spokesperson said that they fell an estimated 20-35 metres, one man died on the scene whilst the other was brought to the surface and died on his way to hospital.

Both workers lived locally and were members of the mine shaft maintenance crew.

Rescue teams rushed to the scene just after the accident at 9am but were not able to revive either of the men.

Workplace standards is investigating the cause of the incident.

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04:43 pm, Saturday 7 December, 2013

iAuditor has partnered with GeoOp for a special 45min webinar to demonstrate live how iAuditor and GeoOp work together to revolutionise workplace auditing.

iAuditor is the world’s most popular safety inspection app used to conduct over 6 million safety inspections around the globe since February 2012. It is an integral new slice of technology helping users streamline their inspection and auditing processes in the workplace.

GeoOp has a similar focus when it comes to making work a more streamlined and organised process, and with iAuditor’s partnership with GeoOp, users can now complete forms in iAuditor and save it under the relevant job in GeoOp keeping everything in one place and under control.

The webinar will be held on Tuesday 10^th December at 11.am AEST.

Space is limited for the webinar, so please register by clicking on the link here. Please make sure to view the webinar time in your timezone and complete the registration form in that timezone as well.

Both apps can be downloaded for free at the App Store or Google Play.

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02:18 pm, Friday 6 December, 2013

The WA Department of Mines and Petroleum is investigating the death on Wednesday of a contract worker at a gold mine in the Pilbara.

A spokesperson for the company said that the worker had died after a serious accident at the discharge line on the tailings dam.

This is the second death at a mine site in Western Australia this year.

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10:20 pm, Thursday 5 December, 2013

A new data released by Safe Work Australia shows there has been no change in the last two years in the number of worker fatalities.

According to the Work-related Traumatic Injury Fatalities, Australia 2012, there were 223 workers who died due to work injuries in 2012.

Key findings of the report include:

• Two thirds of the work-related fatalities in 2012 involved vehicles. Half of these incidents happened on a public road. The other half happened at a worksite.
• Workers aged 65 years and up recorded the highest fatality rate. There were 6.85 deaths per 100,000 workers aged 65 years or more. This was three times the rate for all workers.
• The Transport, postal and warehousing industry recorded the highest number of fatalities with 65 deaths last year.  The agriculture, forestry and fishing industry ranked secondwith 53 deaths and the construction industry with 30.

The report is the eighth in a series which estimates the number of workers and bystanders killed each year due to work-related injuries.

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09:54 pm, Thursday 5 December, 2013

WorkSafe inspectors are visiting retail stores in Victoria this week to encourage shop owners and workers to prioritise safety during the Christmas sales rush.

They will continue to visit stores across the summer months and will be looking at issues on housekeeping practices, ladder safety, storage and stock management processes. Safety training for young and new workers will also be a focus for the inspectors.

WorkSafe Regional Director, Melinda Collinson, urged the retail sector to prioritise safety so that everyone could get home safely at the end of each day.

“This time of year, many businesses put on Christmas casuals for the summer months, so it’s particularly important that young or new employees receive appropriate training and supervision. They should also be encouraged to speak up if they are uncertain about how to do something safely,” said Ms Collinson.

She encouraged all workplaces be proactive in identifying and fixing safety issues.

“The good news is that these types of injuries are preventable and the solutions to the hazards are often simple fixes,” she said.

“One of the easiest ways to prevent slips, trips and falls is to make sure in-store and back-of-store areas are free from clutter and excess stock.

“Another simple solution to avoid manual handling injuries is to use an elevated work surface, such as a trolley or table, instead of lifting stock from the floor.

“It’s also essential that workers have the right equipment to access stock or displays at height. Platform-style ladders are often a better choice than A-frame ladders, which can be less stable and pose a greater fall risk.”

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06:48 pm, Wednesday 4 December, 2013

A worker was transported to the Cleve Hospital after he was hit by lightning when working at Rudall yesterday morning.

At this stage his injuries are unknown.

SafeWork SA has attended the site and is investigating the incident.

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05:44 pm, Wednesday 4 December, 2013

A worker who was crushed under a 3-tonne machine this morning in Delacombe this morning is lucky yo be alive according to authorities.

The 47-year-old local man way pinned to the floor face down by a lathe when it fell as it was being moved. The incident happened just before 8.30 this morning.

Emergency crews were called after the machine’s handle pierced the shoulder of the man. Paramedics treated him for an hour while he was still trapped and CFA rescue teams worked to free him.

Ballarat City Fire Brigade senior station Officer David Mounier said that initially the rescue teams tried to dismantle the lathe while the worker was trapped but this was “too difficult and dangerous.”

They then had to focus on cutting the handle from the machine and the five cm handle was left imbedded in the man’s shoulder.

The injured man was taken to Ballarat Health Services Base Hospital in a stable condition.

WorkSafe Victoria is investigating the incident.

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12:10 am, Wednesday 4 December, 2013

Photo: SafetyCulture Library

As part of a campaign to reduce injuries from hazardous manual tasks in residential aged care facilities, SafeWork SA will inspect aged care providers across South Australia.

SA safety inspectors, as well as inspectors from Victoria, Western Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory will visit more than 500 residential aged care facilities across the jurisdictions to check on compliance with legislation and to ensure that the control of risks associated with resident handling in aged care facilities are being met.

Inspections will commence this week.

“A significant portion of injuries are to the backs and shoulders of nurses and carers, often taking a long time to heal,” said SafeWork SA Executive Director, Bryan Russell.

“These injuries are also expensive to treat, adding to employer costs and workers compensation schemes.

“This campaign will determine if safe systems of work are in place and regularly reviewed so that manual handling injuries are eliminated where practicable. We need to ensure that aged care workplaces have adequate systems in place so that nurses and carers can move elderly residents safely,” said Mr Russell.

As the aging population grows, the aged care sector is expanding. The number of aged care workers in the country is predicted to increase from 304,000 in 2010 to 825,000 in 2050.

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01:26 pm, Tuesday 3 December, 2013

According to NSW Mine Safety fires represent a considerable percentage of all notifiable incidents that are reported to them. They have examined all of the reports of fires on mechanical plant in underground metalliferous mines between 2008 to 2012 and created a Safety Bulletin to warn mine workers and employees of the dangers.

Some of the recommendations from the Safety Bulletin include:

1. Mine Safety Management Plans (MSMP) should be reviewed to ensure fire risks are identified and control measures are implemented;

2. Risk assessments and control measures should be consistent with AS 5062;

3. Emergency Management Plans should be reviewed to ensure that procedures are adequate to control the fire risk associated with the use of mechanical plant in the underground mine;

4. Mines need to review fire incident records to determine the plant most at risk of fire and implement control measures to reduce the risk.

For the full Safety Bulletin and to download a copy to display at your workplace see the NSW Mine Safety Website.

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01:05 pm, Tuesday 3 December, 2013

A worker was resuscitated at a power company worksite last week after the elevated working platform that he was working on contacted a power line.

According to Ambulance Victoria, Paramedics were called to the work site in Ballarat rural Victoria at 2pm to attend to a man in his 50’s who had suffered an electric shock.

They resuscitated him at the scene and transported him to Ballarat Base Hospital in a serious condition. WorkSafe Victoria is investigating the incident.

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