07:05 am, Saturday 25 September, 2010

The death of a man at a southern New South Wales construction site has resulted to improvements in refuelling practices, a senior roads official said.

A 39-year-old truck driver has been killed at a Tarcutta bypass site in July 1 after being pinned between a fuel tanker and a reversing front-end loader.

Charlie Blomfield, general manager of Roads and Traffic Authority’s Hume Highway office, said making worksites safe requires a lot of effort, but there is always room for improvement.

“There’s been a number of changes that have been brought in, particularly in the way refuelling is undertaken, but a lot of that at the moment is going through police and WorkCover investigations and I know the industry as well as ourselves will respond once the outcomes of those investigations are known,” he said.

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08:39 am, Sunday 11 July, 2010

A truck driver has died of crush injuries at a construction site in southern NSW on July 1.

The 39-year-old man from Wagga Wagga was trapped between his fuel tanker and a reversing front-end loader.

According to police, the man was refueling at a Hume Highway bypass construction site at Tarcutta when the incident happened.

He was on foot when he got pinned by his rig and the other equipment, which crushed him about 12.40pm (AEST).

An on-site nurse tried to revive him, but he died at the scene.

WorkCover is looking into the incident.

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04:31 pm, Monday 24 May, 2010

WorkSafe has released a guidance note on earthmoving equipment being used as a crane.

It serves to inform employers and contractors on the safe use of earthmoving equipment to lift and transport freely suspended loads.

WorkSafe recognises equipment such as excavators, backhoes and front-end loaders are used to perform work in a similar manner to a mobile crane.

While it proscribes the practice in some applications, the secondary use of earthmoving equipment can be practiced if the proper safeguards and safety procedures are in place.

Among the topics discussed by the guidance note includes the selection of the proper earthmoving equipment, the safework systems required, and operator training and competency.

For more information, please visit the WorkSafe website.

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