07:40 am, Tuesday 28 September, 2010

Over $45 million was spent last year in Glen Eira and Port Phillip communities over avoidable work-related injuries, Worksafe Victoria says.

According to the safety watchdog, 17,000 Victorian workers suffer musculoskeletal injuries every year.

In Port Phillip, payments in the form of medical, wage and other expenses for workers involved in manual handling, slips, trips and falls increased to $35 million.

In Glen Eira, the payments totalled $10.5 million.

WorkSafe has released the figures as part of a campaign stressing that musculoskeletal injuries are not confined to workers whose jobs involve heavy lifting.

“Workers in child care, retail, hospitality and other sectors not normally associated with heavy lifting suffer debilitating injuries every day,” said WorkSafe’s strategic programs director Trevor Martin.

“They’re the most preventable, because simply cleaning up a spill on the floor or providing some lifting equipment eliminates the risk.

“Our message to Victorian employers is that regardless of their industry or business, employers need to be talking to their workforce, identifying risks, and fixing them.”

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08:45 am, Monday 20 September, 2010

A new set of safety resources for the forestry industry has been launched by NSW Finance Minister Michael Daley and Primary Industries Minister Steve Whan.

WorkCover figures reveal that the New South Wales forestry sector have recorded 396 injuries in the last two years, costing it more than $4 million.

According to Mr Daley, WorkCover NSW and Forests NSW had made a concerted effort to develop effective approaches to workplace safety and health in the forestry industry.

“In response to the issues raised by industry, both agencies have developed a practical resource to help resolve key safety issues and more closely meet the needs of forestry operators,” Mr Daley said.

“The new Forest Industry Safety Tool is a comprehensive publication designed to assist forest operators develop stronger safety management systems and help them comply with relevant workplace safety obligations and reduce the risk of injuries.

“The tool is the final phase in a targeted advisory campaign and establishes minimum standards of work health and safety and includes a range of templates and checklists to assist forestry operators implement a systematic approach to safety and injury management.”

According to Mr Whan, stakeholders in this high-risk industry can benefit from the safety tool.

“This resource will help deliver positive long term outcomes in reducing injuries across this sector while building industry capability to manage workplace safety risks,” Mr Whan said.

The new safety resource will include site safety plans, as well as harvesting and haulage plans. It will also provide templates for workplace consultation, safety induction, an incident investigation policy and skills and competency policy.

For more information, please visit
www.workcover.nsw.gov.au or call 13 10 50.

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02:18 pm, Tuesday 24 August, 2010

A bus company has pleaded guilty in the Darwin Magistrates Court today to violating Regulation 39 of the Work Health Regulations following a fatal accident in 2007.

The firm was fined $7,500 for its safety breach.

A 58-year-old driver was found by a workmate at the Alice Springs bus depot on 24 December 2007 with his head and neck trapped in a bus door. He died from the injuries he sustained.

The bus doors, which was operated by air-compressed pneumatic cylinders, were known to jam if compressed air was left in the cylinders overnight. Drivers were thus told to release air each day using the emergency release switch located in the stairwell of the bus.

Some drivers reported the door closed forcefully if release switch was turned too far, rather than releasing the air. Some drivers experienced being entrapped by the doors, although they were able to free themselves.

According to Work Health Authority’s Laurene Hull, the incident could have been avoided if the company had communicated and consulted with its workers about this particular hazard.

“Ideally, an employer would identify a hazard and take steps to eliminate the hazard from the workplace,” she said.

“If eliminating the hazard is not practical, then employers should seek to isolate or control the hazard to minimise the health and safety risk to their workers.

“This tragic incident highlights the importance of communication between employers and workers regarding workplace health and safety.”

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08:11 am, Thursday 22 July, 2010

The South Australian Industrial Court has fined a leading mining company following the death of a worker at its South Australian mine.

The company pleaded guilty to failing to maintain a safe workplace. It was also ordered to pay compensation to the worker’s family.

The incident occurred at the Olympic Dam mine in SA’s far north in 2007 when a 75kg fibreglass nozzle fell from a crane onto the the worker.

The court was told the premises should have been vacated when the incident occurred.

The magistrate pointed out the lack of communication as cause for the tragic accident, but noted the subsequent changes made to prevent any recurrence.

The court set the fines at $76,000 and the compensation to the deceased worker’s family at $20,000.

The company said it fully accepts the court’s decision, and vows to learn from the accident to make sure it won’t happen again.

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