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Activities – WorkSafe

Alert – Wind warning to builders

Three men were hurt in two separate structural collapses, thought to have been caused by strong winds, at Geelong two weeks ago. In one incident two plumbers were taken to hospital after a three-metre high concrete-block wall collapsed on them. One had a fractured leg. In the other incident a man was struck on the head by bricks when a parapet fell from a building which had recently undergone roof work.

A WorkSafe alert Masonry structures - Instability leads to collapse issued in 2005 points out that anyone working near masonry walls and other structures must ensure they have adequate strength and stability and be able to resist the effects of extreme weather conditions.

Freight Week 2007

WorkSafe’s Manufacturing, Logistics, Agriculture and Retail Industries industry program is once again participating in Freight Week – September 15 – 21. Events include ten separate conferences, four major launches, five dinners and functions and a free 3 day trade exhibition with daily workshops on technical issues. According to organisers, Freight Week addresses ownership changes, legislative changes, technology development and best practice behaviour in a rapidly changing freight marketplace.
Read more: Freight Week website

Farm death puts hazards of ‘quad bikes’ in spotlight

The death of an elderly farmer after his all-terrain vehicle (ATV) rolled down a hill in north-east Victoria has prompted a renewed call for helmets to be worn by all ATV users. The man, 76, was found on Saturday September 1 during a search by SES volunteers on a property on the Beechworth-Wangaratta Road near Everton. Although the joint Victoria Police–WorkSafe investigation is at an early stage, it appears the man lost control of the bike while travelling along a narrow farm track near the edge of an embankment.

WorkSafe’s Executive Director, John Merritt, said wearing a helmet could greatly reduce, injuries caused by impact with the ground or other objects, or crushing.
Source: WorkSafe Media Release

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DEWR completes analysis of global chemical system

The Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR) has analysed Europe's proposal to adopt a globally harmonised system of classification and labelling of chemicals (GHS). The DEWR has concentrated on classification criteria and scope of coverage of the proposed Australian workplace chemicals framework compared to the GHS and European proposals. The GHS is a single internationally agreed system of classification and labelling of chemicals which was developed under the auspices of the United Nations. The report can be downloaded from this page of the Australian Safety and Compensation Council website.

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Useful New Resources

From VWA:

• Dangerous goods ready reckoner - a tool to help businesses correctly label their dangerous goods. The tool allows the user to enter the quantities, type and location of all dangerous goods on their premises. It results in an easy-to-read report outlining labelling requirements.
• a series of frequently asked questions (FAQ pdf) for holders of existing certificate of competency holders. This follows the introduction of the OHS regulations in July 2007. In Victoria, all certificates will progressively expire over a five-year transition period starting 31 January 2008. By 30 June 2012, all certificates of competency will have expired.

From the ACT: Office of Regulatory Services September Newsletter [pdf], has interesting articles on a number of items on OHS issues including ‘Altering Electrical Appliance Plugs’

Hot Work Permits Alert from the Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS) a Safety Alert regarding Hot Work Permits [pdf] after one person was killed and one injured when welding near a gasoline truck. Flammable vapours ignited and case a fire and explosion.

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Worksafe Prosecutions

Company fined $300,000 for fatality
Camden Neon Pty Ltd, a company that manufactures and carries out maintenance on display signage, last week pleaded guilty to breaching the 2004 OHS Act, and was convicted and fined $300,000. One of its workers was killed after changing a light bulb. The 26 year old died in hospital four days after receiving an electric shock as he removed broken glass from a ‘live’ light fitting at a Coburg North car yard in April last year.

He had not been provided with protective gloves and was using an uninsulated screwdriver. Judge Sue Pullen said the company’s working practices were grossly inadequate or non-existent.

Camden Neon employees routinely left the power on when they carried out sign maintenance. The firm did not have a tag and lock out procedure for use when working with electricity. There was no written job safety analysis or work permit system before electrical work was done and employees had inadequate information, instruction and training in relation to the safe operation of the elevating work platform (EWP).
WorkSafe Media Release

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Employer fined $50,000 after worker killed: VWA issues maintenance warning

The County Court has fined a Kerang business owner $50,000, without conviction (!), after an employee was crushed and later died when an excavator bucket suddenly closed on him in June last year. The maximum fine for an individual under the OHS Act 2004 is $189,000.

Keith William Chirnside, who operates Kerfab Industries Pty Ltd, pleaded guilty to failing to provide and maintain a safe workplace. The company makes and repairs agricultural and earth moving machinery. The injured worker was replacing the steel lining of the front-end loader bucket which closed on him. Another man’s hand was hurt as he tried to free him.

The Director of WorkSafe’s Manufacturing Logistics and Agriculture program, Trevor Martin, said maintenance and repair work was among the most dangerous. ‘Repair and maintenance work invariably means something is not as it should be, and consequently the risks need to be tightly controlled.’
WorkSafe Media Release

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GrainCorp prosecuted for a second time in 2007

GrainCorp Operations Limited was recently convicted and fined $100,000 after a casual employee fell four metres into an unguarded ground-level grain hopper at Ouyen in January 2006. The worker sustained serious injuries to head, knee, shoulder, and kidneys and was off work for four weeks. It was the company’s second prosecution in Victoria this year.

The Mildura Magistrates court heard that GrainCorp failed to provide adequate fall protection to employees who were required to work from heights on grain hoppers: there was no perimeter fall protection around the pit and there were no standard safety instructions or training for cleaning the hopper. On 30 March this year, GrainCorp Operations was convicted and fined $85,000 by the Horsham Magistrates Court after a grain auger fell, seriously injured a worker’s leg and hip.
Source: WorkSafe Media Release

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Manufacturer fined $90,000 for hand crush injury

Victorian road transport vehicles manufacturer Maxitrans Australia Pty Ltd has been convicted and fined $90,000 after a worker suffered a crush injury to his hand.

In 2005 the worker for was pinned between an axle unit and a pneumatic axle-lifting unit after an unrated chain failed. The employer used chains that were not weight-rated and were reused by randomly bolting them together. The VWA found that there was no formal procedure for reusing the chain or for the selection of bolts, and employees did not receive training or instruction for the safe use of chains to suspend axle units.

Two weeks prior to the incident, a similar chain failure occurred but was not reported, and no preventative action was taken.
Source: WorkSafe Media Release

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Q fever warning for meat and livestock industry

A Geelong animal products processing company was last week fined after four workers at became infected with Q fever because they had not been immunised against the debilitating condition.

Galpac Australia Pty Ltd was fined $20,000 (without conviction) in the Geelong Magistrates Court after pleading guilty to two charges under the 1985 OHS Act.

The company processes sheep placentas, which are used in cosmetics and as a health product. Galpac did not carry out a job safety analysis before beginning a trial of working with semi-thawed sheep placentas rather than frozen ones. Cutting the semi-thawed placentas into their component parts exposed the workers to Q fever.

The Director of WorkSafe’s Manufacturing, Logistics and Agriculture program, Trevor Martin said anyone working with potentially infected animals or animal products should be immunised. Vaccination is a completely effective, low cost, and readily-available means of prevention.
Source: WorkSafe Media Release Information on Infectious Diseases WorkSafe Guidance Note: Q Fever Prevention

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International News

China: Lean Manufacturing – A case study of its impact on Workplace Health and Safety

Lean manufacturing, which establishes small production “cells,” or teams of workers, who complete an entire product from raw material processing through final assembly and shipment, increases health and safety hazards by mixing previously separated exposures to various chemicals (with possible additive and cumulative effects) and noise. The intensification of work leads to greater ergonomic and stress-related adverse health effects, as well as increased safety hazards. The authors of this study say that the standard industrial hygiene approach of anticipation, recognition, evaluation, and hazard control should be applied to lean operations, and that worker participation in identifying and solving problems is critical for reducing negative impacts.
Garrett Brown and Dara O'Rourke Lean Manufacturing comes to China – A case study of its impact on Workplace Health and Safety [pdf] International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health

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Europe: consultation on responsible research in Nanosciences and Nanotechnologies

The European Commission this week announced a public consultation on responsible nanosciences and nanotechnologies research to provide input for a Recommendation to the Member States on a possible Code of Conduct for this emerging area of science.

The potential economic impact of nanosciences and nanotechnologies (NST) research has been highlighted by analysts, with forecasts varying between US$150 billion by 2010 (approximately A$180 billion) according to a 2002 study by the Mitsubishi Institute, and US$2.6 trillion (approximately A$3.1 trillion) by 2014 according to a 2004 Lux Research study – implying that the market for nanotechnology-based products would be larger than the information and communication technology market and would exceed the future biotech market by ten times. Estimated worldwide public funding for nanotechnology R&D in 2004 was equivalent to approximately A$5.5 billion, reaching approximately A$8.3 billion in 2006. The consultation period is to 21st September only.

Unions and other groups have serious concerns related to the minuscule size of nanoparticles, their ability to cross natural bio-boundaries or potential to connect living creatures and man-made materials and systems.
EU Media Release. More information on Nanotechnology

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ILO: Green jobs: Facing up to "an inconvenient truth"

Over the last year or so, it has dawned on policy makers, businesses and the public around the world that climate change looks set to become the biggest social and environmental challenge of the 21st century. Peter Poschen, ILO Senior Policy Specialist and focal point on climate change, looks at the social and labour impacts of this complex global challenge.
Read the article in: World of Work 60, Aug. 2007