05:53 pm, Wednesday 17 March, 2010

Queensland’s Attorney-General Cameron Dick says it is not the Government at fault for an asbestos incident at a north Queensland school. Instead, he shifts the blame to contractors working on the schools.

Last week, Mackay North High School students and faculty had to be evacuated when it was revealed that asbestos particles may have been disturbed during a September 2009 work.

A week before the Mackay North incident, up to 20 Mirani State High School students were ordered to shower in their uniforms because of an asbestos ceiling scare.

“I’m advised that in one instance it was contractors who’d come into the school who had breached very clear and well-known standards for dealing with and treating and working with asbestos,” Mr Dick said.

“That is unacceptable and they’ve already been dropped as a contractor.”

However, Opposition Education spokesman Bruce Flegg highlights the systemic failures.

“This is not just one school - we’re talking about three schools in Mackay - one was under investigation when the news broke about the other two,” he said.

“There are strong national guidelines and they’re not being enforced by the Government in schools.”

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05:33 pm, Wednesday 17 March, 2010

The Melbourne Magistrates Court has convicted and fined a transportation company yesterday over serious injuries suffered by a driver when a truck trailer collapsed on him.

The company was fined $170,000 and was ordered to pay WorkSafe costs amounting to $41,270.

The case stemmed from a 2006 incident in Lemnos, near Shepparton. The driver asked a forklift operator to put an adjustable mezzanine floor in the truck’s trailer into place.

The driver climbed into the trailer to engage the floor’s corner supports, while the operator lifted the floor in position. However, one of the supports got severed, which caused the trailer’s rear floor to collapse onto the driver.

The driver had to be confined in hospital for 12 days to treat his broken arm and leg, fractured shoulder, broken ribs, and torn knee ligament.

According to Acting Executive Director for Health and Safety Stan Krpan, WorkSafe found the drivers and other workers who were tasked to adjust trailer floors lacked of training, instruction and equipment.

“This is a large operator that has nearly 5,000 vehicles across 11 countries – working with adjustable trailer floors will be part of the job for many of their employees,” Mr Krpan said.

“The bottom line is that people should not be in a position where they’re working, unprotected, under suspended floor panels.”

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07:12 pm, Tuesday 16 March, 2010

Magistrate Greg Borchers has fined an outback cattle firm $60,000 over the death of a worker in a transportation accident in 2007.

Under the laws, the company could have faced up to $650,000 in fines.

The 35-year-old Philippine-born worker was riding at the back of a ute at Wollogorang Station with two workmates when he fell off and died.

The family of the man in the Philippines told the court the incident has shattered their dreams of a better life.

The station’s owner pleaded guilty to failing to provide a safe workplace.

According to Magistrate Borchers, the dangerous practice was condoned by the company.

It has now made steps to make sure a similar accident will not happen in the future.

The court heard the cattle industry has traditionally been lax with workplace safety.

The Magistrate said it is not an excuse for allowing the risky practice.

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06:34 pm, Tuesday 16 March, 2010

WorkSafe has launched an inspection program addressing the OHS standards of bridge and gantry crane use.

WorkSafe WA Commissioner Nina Lyhne said the program, which kicked off last week, aims to bring the safety risks to light and to ensure that employers has the necessary knowledge to comply with the laws.

“This inspection program is part of an ongoing program of proactive inspections aimed at providing employers with information on how to make workplaces safer,” Ms Lyhne said.

“There are literally thousands of these types of cranes in use across the State – in fact, most factories, warehouses and workshops have at least one of these cranes.

“WorkSafe inspectors have encountered many mechanical failures with these cranes over the years, and felt that this warranted a program to check as many of them as possible.”

Inspectors have been armed with a checklist to ensure consistency in the inspections, which cover cranes of all lifting capacities in metropolitan and regional areas.

WorkSafe inspectors have also been tasked to check the maintenance records of the worksites.

“Under WA’s occupational safety and health laws, employers have a responsibility to properly maintain items of plant in the workplace,” Ms Lyhne said.

“Our inspectors have noticed that there are many ageing overhead travelling cranes in WA workplaces and want to make sure that they are being properly maintained so they do not fail and cause an injury.

“Employers also have an obligation to ensure these cranes are being maintained, inspected and operated in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions, but in some cases the manufacturer is no longer in existence and Australian standards then must be followed.

“Like all WorkSafe’s proactive inspection programs, this one aims to raise awareness and provide employers with information, but inspectors will take enforcement action if necessary.

“We firmly believe that raising awareness with proactive campaigns is the best way in which to lessen the risk of work-related injury and illness.”

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06:05 pm, Tuesday 16 March, 2010

The Education Department has downplayed the fear that students of a Karratha school may be exposed to asbestos.

Particles of the hazardous substance were found while construction was going on at the Karratha Primary school.

Agents of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union traveled to the school on Saturday after asbestos was found at the construction site.

According to the Education Department, the asbestos particles were already disposed of and there are no risks of exposure to the students.

WorkSafe sent two inspectors to the site yesterday, who did not find any need to issue safety notices.

The Education Department says the construction company swiftly discarded the asbestos and in accordance with government regulations.

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05:32 pm, Tuesday 16 March, 2010

A windmill installation gone wrong has left two people dead and two others injured at around 11.45am today in western Victoria.

Early reports indicate the workers were installing a windmill on a farm near Rainbow north-west of Horsham, when it struck overhead power lines.

Two of the workers were electrocuted while two suffered serious burns.

A team of WorkSafe inspectors is on its way to the site investigate the incident.

WorkSafe Acting Director for Health and Safety Stan Krpan said the incident is a tragic reminder that workers need to be aware of their task at hand.

“Today’s incident takes the number of work-related deaths this month to four – with three in the past week, and 11 for the year. The latest fatality was last Thursday when a man died from a carbon dioxide leak in a Birregurra hotel’s cellar,” Mr Krpan said.

Today marks the first time since 2002 to claim the lives of two workers in the same incident.

On November 2002, a woman and her grandson died in an accident involving a quad-bike.

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05:47 pm, Friday 12 March, 2010

A hotel at Biguerra near Colac has been directed to install an alarm in its cellar alerting anyone coming in of any carbon dioxide leaks.

WorkSafe issued an Improvement Notice to the hotel following the death of a man in its cellar while delivering beer kegs yesterday. The safety watchdog is now investigating the circumstances surrounding the man’s death.

Inspectors barred anyone from entering the cellar yesterday until it was deemed safe.

According to WorkSafe, carbon dioxide from a gas cylinder could have possibly leaked in the cellar.

The gas cylinders storing carbon dioxide and nitrogen are used for carbonating beer and soft drinks. It can be unsafe if leaks occur in a confined space. Other points in the system like pipe fittings can also develop leaks.

An alarm system can warn people of any gas leak and alert them not to enter the room.

According to WorkSafe Acting Executive Director for Health and Safety Stan Krpan, carbon dioxide and nitrogen can be hazardous substances.

“If cylinders containing these gases are stored in a semi-confined or enclosed environment like a cellar, accidental leakage is always a potential risk – no matter how well they are maintained,” he said.

“Carbon dioxide gas and low oxygen monitoring and alarm systems are the best way to prevent walking into a potential death trap.

“For workplaces using both nitrogen and carbon dioxide systems, we recommend a dual carbon dioxide and oxygen monitoring and alarm system. For those only using carbon dioxide, a carbon dioxide monitoring and alarm system is needed. This is a mandatory expectation unless the employer can provide a risk assessment that indicates otherwise.

“Alarm systems and the equipment itself need to be closely maintained and tested regularly. Staff need to be trained so they know what to do if the alarm goes off.

“This isn’t just an issue for local pubs – small and large organisations across industry have a responsibility to make sure workers are safe,” he said.

The risk of injury or death due to gas build-up can also minimised through regular inspection of the gas cylinders and training of staff in use and maintenance of gases and associated work.

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05:06 pm, Friday 12 March, 2010

The Industrial Court has fined three employers over $50,000 yesterday for three different occasions where employees were involved in machinery accidents.

The three companies pleaded guilty for breaching the Occupational Health Safety and Welfare Act 1986, in failing to provide plant in a safe condition, safe systems of work, and adequate training and instruction.

The court convicted and fined $26,000 a construction company over an accident at its Kingston Park construction site.

On September 2007, a 19-year-old apprentice was using a circular power saw when it jerked suddenly. The equipment sawed into his left forearm, resulting in severe bone, tendon, nerve and soft tissue injuries.

SafeWork SA said the male apprentice was told to hold the saw with one hand while securing the timber to be cut with his other hand. According to Magistrate Michael Ardlie, this method was hazardous and inadequate considering the apprentice’s lack of experience.

“The defendant failed to carry out any adequate hazard identification and risk assessment for the task,” Magistrate Ardlie said.

The business has been sold after the incident, and the OHS systems have since been replaced.

In another case, a manufacturing company specialising in steel was convicted and fined $22,400 for an employee accident at its facility in O’Sullivan’s Beach.

On October 2007, an employee doing maintenance work on a steel-milling machine, when his right hand was caught in the machine’s unguarded chain and sprocket. The worker sustained injuries to three fingers of his hand.

Magistrate Ardlie observed the company had extensive safety systems in place and the trapping
point during a normal operation mode was not accessible.

However, he added, “Whilst the defendant had considered in some detail the operation of the plant it had not considered the trapping point… being accessible in the way the employee accessed it.”

In the third case, the Court convicted and fined $9,000 a printing and mailing company over an incident at its Camden Park site.

On August 2007, a female employee injured her left hand while operating a book-stapling machine, crushing a fingertip of her left hand.

In its investigation, SafeWork SA found the machine’s moving parts were accessible to the operator.

After the incident, the company has installed a more effective guard on the machine. It has also conducted a full risk analysis of the facility. The incident was the company’s first safety breach in more than 37 years.

SafeWork SA Executive Director Michele Patterson said contact with moving machinery is a common cause of injury in the workplace.

“These three cases highlight the need to rigorously factor safety into all facets of work, especially the plant and equipment involved and the work practices themselves,” she said.

“The vast majority of incidents of harm such as these are foreseeable and avoidable, provided the appropriate analysis identifies all situations which may arise, no matter how unusual or infrequent.”

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08:10 am, Friday 12 March, 2010

The Gympie Industrial Magistrates Court has fined the owner of an elevated platform, after his platform caused the injuries of a fruit picker at an Amamoor farm.

Stanley Stephen Haman was found guilty of breaching section 28 (1) of the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995 for failing to ensure workplace safety. He incurred $10,000 in fines.

Industrial Magistrate Dennis Beutel heard that a 61-year-old fruit picker sustained injuries when an elevated platform rolled over on uneven terrain, outside Gympie.

The 25 August 2008 workplace incident left the man with a ruptured aorta and fractured pelvis and shoulder.

Investigation of the Workplace Health and Safety Queensland found the owner of the platform did not meet his health and safety obligations.

It was revealed the fruit picker did not undergo a proper training on the platform’s operation. It was also found the machinery’s self-levelling device had not been activated when the accident occurred.

Prior to the incident, no adequate risk assessment and appropriate control measures were carried out.

Mr Haman has since improved his safework system after the incident.

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07:36 am, Friday 12 March, 2010

The Electrical Safety Office (ESO) has released a safety alert about risk management of tasks associated with ceiling insulation.

ESO’s newest safety alert is a reminder to insulation installers and licensed electricians of the requirements over the managing ceiling insulation risks, including the new requirements, which took effect from 9 March 2010.

The Minister for Industrial Relations has made a Ministerial Notice effective from 9 March 2010, which requires installers to take extra precautions when installing electrically conductive insulation (other than metal foil batts) in sites where the insulation is installed onto the ceiling.

Since 1 November 2009, insulation installers have been barred from using conductive fastenings for foil ceiling insulation. They are also required to have risk assessment training, and documented risk assessments dealing with electrical safety risks.

These changes were mandated under the Electrical Safety (Installation of Ceiling Insulation) Notice 2009 and are now incorporated into a new Ministerial Notice, the Electrical Safety (Installation of Ceiling Insulation) Notice 2010 with the following additional provisions:

• an electrical safety inspection and test of the electrical installation related to the ceiling space at the premises must be performed by a licensed electrical contractor before electrically conductive ceiling insulation is installed,
• following the inspection and test, if any part of the electrical installation in the ceiling space is not electrically safe, the installation of electrically conductive ceiling insulation must not proceed until the installation is made safe or repaired.

If the outcome of the inspection and test of the electrical installation undertaken confirms the electrical installation is electrically safe, then electrically conductive insulation may be installed under the following conditions:

• before beginning the installation, a safety switch is installed on each final sub-circuit and sub-mains located in the ceiling space where such installation is possible; and
• the consumer’s mains and/or cables of the electrical installation not able to be protected by a safety switch are clearly identified and marked permanently at the most accessible point and at intervals not exceeding one metre in the ceiling space to the extent that is reasonably practicable; and
• the electrically conductive ceiling insulation is installed so as to ensure that the consumer’s mains, and any circuit not able to be protected by a safety switch, are not covered at any point by the ceiling insulation; and
• during the installation, a minimum of 25mm separation is maintained between the ceiling insulation material and the consumer’s mains and/or any cables of the electrical installation not able to be protected by a safety switch.

The Ministerial Notice applies in Queensland, irrespective of any requirements or conditions of the Australian Government’s yet to commence Household Renewable Energy Bonus Scheme.

For more information, please visit www.electricalsafety.qld.gov.au.

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