12:48 pm, Wednesday 4 April, 2012

Safe Towns Campaign will target Ballarat later this month to check on the safety and health compliance of small businesses as part of WorkSafe’s ongoing campaign across regional Victoria.

WorkSafe encourages businesses to join a free breakfast briefing next Thursday, April 12, at Mercure Ballarat Hotel and Convention Centre from 7.30am to 9am to learn more about what health and safety and return to work inspectors will be looking for during the inspection. Tips on how businesses can make their workplaces safer and how they can ensure that they are complying with the law will also be discussed. They will also be briefed on what to expect when they receive a visit from a WorkSafe Return to Work inspector.

WorkSafe Operations General Manager, Lisa Sturzenegger, said that the breakfast briefing will be a good opportunity for businesses to check how they’re doing and make improvements before the visits.

“Don’t wait for us to arrive before changes are made or wait for an incident to happen, make safety a priority. The consequences of not doing so can be devastating for all involved,” said Ms Sturzenegger.

The Safe Towns campaign involves a group of WorkSafe inspectors who visit a specific area over a one-week period to check on businesses’ compliance with workplace health and safety and return to work.

The Safe Towns campaign will take place in Ballarat from 30 April to 4 May.

Businesses are encouraged to register for the Safe Towns campaign breakfast briefing by contacting Tanya Smith on 5338 4444 or emailing her through tanya_smith@worksafe.vic.gov.au.

Report by Haydee - Do you have an OHS News Story - Let us know

11:30 pm, Sunday 8 January, 2012

A 47-year old worker is in a critical condition after suffering from electric shock while setting up speakers at Buninyong.

According to The Courier, the victim was putting speakers to a tree before 12pm on Friday, when one of the cables came into contact with an overhead power line.

Ballarat Police said that he was standing on top of a van when a co-worker threw him a cable which accidentally struck the power line.

The victim was brought to Ballarat Health Services Base Hospital before being airlifted to The Alfred Hospital.

A paramedic said that the victim went into cardiac arrest and was revived for more than 30 minutes. The victim’s workmates and a cyclist performed CPR before emergency services arrived.

WorkSafe is conducting an investigation over the incident.

Report by Haydee - Do you have an OHS News Story - Let us know