NT: Workplace Fight Leaves One Dead

Friday November 16 2007 Source: NT News

POLICE were questioning a man last night after an alleged murder on a Territory mango farm.

The man is believed to have been involved in a fight with another worker when he was stabbed.

It is not known what they were fighting over.

A 37-year-old man was taken into custody and last night was still being questioned by Darwin's Major Crime Unit over the death.

The fatal stabbing happened on Wednesday night on the Lee Ming Mangoes farm at Lambells Lagoon in Darwin's rural area.

Police were called to the property about 7.20pm after reports that two men had been in an altercation and one of them was seriously injured.

When officers arrived they found a man dead. He had numerous stab wounds to his body.

An autopsy was done yesterday and the Coroner will report.

Police had no further details on the murder last night, saying the investigation was "ongoing".

When the Northern Territory News visited the mango farm yesterday about 20 people were busily packing mangoes in the production shed.

A woman, believed to be the owner, said she did not want to talk to the media about the stabbing and said that it had happened "next door".

But the fatal fight happened at a residence at the back of the mango farm property, where many of the mango pickers and packers slept.

It is believed that residents in the area did not hear anything.

It is the busiest time of the year for mango farmers, with the month-long Territory harvest coming to an end after starting mid-October.

OHS News Tip - Workplace Conflict Policy

VIC: SME Machinery Safety Under Review

Thursday November 15 2007 Source: Warnambool Standard

WORKSAFE figures show in the past five years 1230 people in the Warrnambool district were injured at work.

According to WorkSafe's spokesman Michael Birt the cost of treating the city's injured workers was $16.78 million.

The safety watchdog's inspectors plan to visit 100 businesses across Warrnambool this week checking machinery and safety standards at small and medium-size businesses.

The visits come after a worker lost his hand at a Warrnambool timber plant last week.

On the inspectors' check list are machine guards, forklift maintenance and general housekeeping in manufacturing warehouses.

Mr Birt said the Our Safe Towns Program enabled inspectors to talk with business owners and aimed to be informative.

He said the inspectors would issue safety improvement notices, with prosecution the last resort.

The inspectors visited Pacific Materials Handling which specialises in rental, sales and maintenance of forklifts.

Company sales representative Doug McKenzie said the authority had become more aware of safety needs in the past couple of years.

He said hearing about accidents underlined the importance of checking and maintaining machinery and ensuring it was fitted with guards.

He said the inspectors were helpful.

VIC: Lost Limbs Take It's Toll

Thursday November 15 2007 Source: Sun Herald by Alan Howe

ALAN Newey and Gerald Wilkie are two of the bravest Victorians you'll meet.

Both men have lost their right arms in industrial accidents. They were both right-handed.

Newey, aged 43, particularly has a right to feel aggrieved. His accident, on September 30, 1999, happened as the state was suspended between the undecided state election that had taken place 12 days earlier, and the Frankston East by-election that led to Steve Bracks winning power.

Bracks had promised to restore common law rights to injured workers. He did, backdating it to October 20, the day he assumed the premiership.

So Newey, a first-grade tennis player back then, received a modest lump-sum payment and had to get on with his life.

And he has. But things can never be the same.

"It has stopped me and my wife, Kathy, from a lot of life's enjoyment," Newey said this week.

"We'd have gone out more, we'd have travelled more," he said. "Financially, it cripples you."

His employer, Pivot Limited, a fertiliser manufacturer in Yarraville, negligently had Newey working on an unguarded conveyor belt. It grabbed at his clothing, probably a work glove.

"I heard a massive bang, but kept working for 30 seconds and I turned around and my arm was gone. The arm was going around the conveyor system, being crushed.

"I thought 'I'm in trouble. I don't know if I am going to see my wife again'."

Newey was told that someone at the company -- his father served them for 47 years -- suggested he might have done it intentionally.

Four attempts to re-attach the arm failed.

Magistrate Peter Couzens set a fine of $90,000 for Pivot, a delinquent company once ordered to pay almost $50,000 after toxic pollutants from its factory poisoned Stony Creek. It has been found guilty of other polluting offences. Now known as Incitec Pivot, the company announced a profit increase of 340 per cent yesterday.

A total of 217 amputations in Victoria was recorded by Workcover in the 12 months up to July 1. That is getting on for one each working day.

On May 17 this year, Gerald Wilkie's number came up. Gerald, 44, started work early at a rock-crushing plant in Laverton and was dragged into a conveyor belt.

What happened next is extraordinary testament to the sort of bloke he is.

Wilkie could see he was being pulled to his death. "I was looking at it right in the face," he said.

"I leaned back and (intentionally) broke my arm, and then wiggled backwards and forwards until I tore it off.

"I got up and walked probably 90 metres and turned (the machine) off. Got my cell phone out, called my manager and told him I needed an ambulance and walked back around to get my own arm."

It was far too damaged to be re-attached.

He is struggling on with wife Maxine and their three kids. "They have been traumatised by it all."

His days of fishing, shooting and fossicking are over. As is much a right-hander would take for granted.

Cesar Melhem is the state secretary of the Australian Workers Union and is leading the union campaign against unsafe conveyor belts.

"They need to have effective guards and emergency stops within reach," he said yesterday.

NSW: Farming Quad Bike Safety Review

Wednesday November 14 2007 Souce: ABC News

WorkCover has issued a safety alert for all terrain vehicles following a spate of fatalities involving quad bikes.

The safety authority says there have been a number of fatalities and serious injuries because of quad bikes' tendency to overturn on steep slopes, banks, dam edges and uneven terrain.

WorkCover's rural industry team manager, Tony Williams, says the biggest factor to consider is the topography of the ground.

"The vehicles can on flat terrain be quite stable, but once they get off that even terrain, they can be quite unstable, particularly if they're carrying loads and particularly if those loads are over and above that recommended by the manufacturer," he said.

Mr Williams says there are some precautions employers can take to prevent injuries among employees.

"People should ensure that they buy the right equipment, they ensure that people who are using the equipment are appropriately trained and certainly that they wear appropriate safety equipment, such as helmets," he said.

Quad Bike Safe Work Method Statements

NT: Drug Test Rejected By Companies

Monday November 12 2007 Source: The Territory News

TERRITORY companies are not drug testing their workers for fear they will quit.

While random drug testing is on the rise around Australia, the manager of an NT testing company said employee sampling was only at an "embryonic" stage in the Top End.

"There seems to be a reluctance to conduct testing due to the fear of losing employees," Integrity Sampling NT and South Australia managing director Bill Hayes said.

Mr Hayes, who employs three people to test in Darwin, said the bulk of Integrity's business came from national companies with Territory offices.

He said companies using testing were mainly involved in transport or construction and that a skills shortage may have accounted for some fear from employers.

But Mr Hayes said part of the reluctance to test came from an ignorance of the procedure, which only detects if the psychoactive component of the drug is still active in a person's system.

"We are not the lifestyle police," he said.

"It (a drug) won't show if they don't come to work during that psychoactive period."

The saliva test, which takes about five minutes to complete, detects opiates, cocaine, THC (from marijuana), amphetamines and methamphetamines.

Drug testing is conducted at all Territory mine sites, NT Minerals Councils chief executive Kezia Purick said.

"It just ensures the person is fit to work and can perform the duties they are paid to perform properly," she said.

Logistics firm Linfox is one of the few non-resources companies toc onduct testing.

Spokesman Gary Max said the decision to test was made at a national level and that testing had been in place for the past five years.

"There are three levels of testing, pre-employment, random sampling and in response to specific incidents," he said.

NT WorkSafe Employment Services deputy chief executive John Hassed said there was no requirement under safety legislation for employers to test.

"NT WorkSafe does not specifically advise employers to test for drugs but advises on an Employer's Duty of Care Responsibilities under Section 29 of the Work Health Act," he said.

"The duty of care includes ensuring workers are able to safely undertake tasks required of them."

OHS NEWS TIP - OHS Manual For Employees

VIC: Concrete Panel Construction Fatality

Sunday 11 November 2007 Source: NT News

A 42-year-old Dandenong man died yesterday in an accident on a construction site at Mitcham.

Police and WorkSafe officers are investigating the Whitehorse Road incident. They have been told the man was removing metal support beams from a concrete pillar wall about 1.30pm when one of the beams fell, hitting him. Paramedics worked to save the man, but he died at the scene.

WorkSafe spokesman Michael Birt said construction work was particularly dangerous. "In this pre-Christmas period we appeal to people to be extra careful with the work that they're doing, to keep these incidents from happening," he said.

The man's name has not been released, but WorkSafe said he was the director of his own company. His death brings the number of workplace deaths this year to 21, the same as at this time last year.

OHS NEWS TIP - Tilt Up Panel Safe Work Method Statements

QLD: Workers Legs Caught In Concrete Pump

Saturday November 10 2007 Source: AAP

The 20-year-old man suffered severe injuries at a Scarborough worksite just before 2pm today.

A Queensland Ambulance spokesman said the man had severe injuries, including a fractured leg and pelvis,

He was given a blood transfusion at the site before being airlifted to the Royal Brisbane Hospital.

Queensland Fire and Rescue Service officer Lance Duncan said it was difficult to extricate the man from the machine.

“Apparently he was cleaning the machine after utilisation and he slipped and fell in there and got his legs jammed in the rotating devise,” Mr Duncan told the Nine Network.

“The man's position is he is stable, with multiple fractures to the leg.”

OHS NEWS TIP - Construction Safe Work Method Statements

VIC: Worker Loses Hand

Wednesday November 6, 2007

A MAN  had his hand amputated in a workplace accident in Warrnambool yesterday afternoon.

The man, aged 20, was rushed to Warrnambool's South West Healthcare after his hand was cut off by a piece of machinery.

The incident occurred at a Raglan Parade business in Warrnambool west just before 5pm.

The man was in a stable condition but it was unknown last night whether the man would be transferred to a Melbourne hospital. 

Worksafe Victoria spokesman Michael Birt said  the injured man had his hand cut off at the wrist while operating a saw and circumstances of the accident were being investigated.

``Unfortunately, we seem to have had a lot of these sort of accidents  this year,'' Mr Birt said. ``We will be looking issues such as guards on the machine, supervision and so on.''

An ambulance spokesperson said it was not known if the man's hand could be reattached.

OHS News TIP - Band Saw Work Method Statement

TAS: Guilty Plea For Waste Management Company

Tuesday November 5 2007 Source: Tasmanian Mercury

ONE of Australia's largest waste management companies has pleaded guilty to workplace safety charges resulting from an industrial accident which killed two men in 2005.

Veolia Environmental Services, formerly known as Collex Pty Ltd, pleaded guilty in the Launceston Magistrates Court to five charges yesterday.

On December 7, 2005, Bruce Beamish, 34, of Turners Beach near Ulverstone and Adrian Chugg, 40, of White Hills, were using a welder to fit a level sensor to a fuel recycling tank at the Invermay plant when a massive explosion occurred.

The charges were:

• Failure to provide a safe work environment.
• Failure to provide a safe system of work.
• Failing to provide plant in safe condition.
• Failure to provide necessary information, instruction, training and supervision.
• Failure to ensure a person in a workplace is safe from injury and risks to health.
  
  Chief Magistrate Arnold Shott adjourned the reading of facts until after the hearing of charges against three managers and two directors.
  
  Richard Douglas Berry and Douglas Thomas Dean of Sydney have pleaded not guilty to the same five counts to which Veolia pleaded guilty.
  
  Tasmanian staff of the company Ronald Edwin Ward and Shane Michael Smedley have pleaded not guilty to one count of failing as an employee to take reasonable care of other persons at a workplace.
  
  Peter Anthony George pleaded not guilty to one count of failure as a responsible officer to perform the duty of an employer.
  
  Veolia spokesman Tony Cade expressed regret at the loss of life resulting from the tragic accident.
  
  "We accept that we did not meet the required standard in this particular case, which is why the company has agreed to plead guilty," he said.
  
  The defendants and counsel and Mr Shott toured the industrial site yesterday morning.
  
  Mr Shott heard legal argument about the admissibility of recorded interviews with defendants taken by Workplace Standards Tasmania officer Ian Graham.
  
  The case continues today at 11.30am.

SA: WorkSafe Awards

Saturday November 3 2007 Source: Adelaide Now

HARDY Wine Company and Santos Limited tonight shared the employer of the year prize at the 2007 South Australian SafeWork Awards.

Santos' approach to safety was also recognised with the award for best workplace health and safety management system.

More than 700 people attended the awards presentation at the Adelaide Convention Centre.

Industrial relations minister Michael Wright, who presented the awards, said the winners' "effort and motivation" was an example for the whole community.

"If it can be adopted across more South Australian workplaces, then we are well on our way to creating a true culture of safety," Mr Wright said.

Judging of the awards, in eight categories, was done by representatives from SafeWork SA, WorkCover SA, Business SA and SA Unions.

The winners were:

 Best workplace health and safety management system: Santos Limited.

 Best solution to an identified workplace health and safety issue: OneSteel for its tipping hook stand.

 Best workplace health and safety practices in small business: Vino Ristorante.

 Employer of the year (joint winners): Hardy Wine Company and Santos Limited.

 Employee of the year: Veronica Wilkey, TAFE SA.

 Health and safety representative of the year: Wayne McCoy, GM Holden Ltd.

 Best public event safety: Twilight Christmas Parade, City of Port Adelaide Enfield.

 Augusta Zadow scholarship: Dr Elspeth McInnes and Christy Ward

VIC: Billboard 'Dummies' Reported To WorkSafe

Friday November 2 2007 Source: The Age

"Workmen" putting up billboard advertising for WorkSafe in Melbourne were "dobbed in" by dozens of safety-minded motorists.

About 40 motorists called WorkSafe's hotline to complain about dangerous workplace practices they had witnessed on the billboards, high above the ground.

But the "workmen" were actually mannequins used as part of a WorkSafe campaign to highlight unsafe work practices, including working on broken ladders and without scaffolding or harnesses outside buildings.

The billboards are on Melbourne's Ring Road and City Link.

"Although they are actually mannequins, this shows a rising community acceptance that we don't have to take safety for granted and only deal with it when tragedy strikes," WorkSafe executive director John Merritt said.

"It's a sign that people are increasingly aware of safety and feel confident that they can do something to prevent workplace injuries and deaths.

"These billboards, like our current television campaign, shows people what not to do."

Mr Merritt said 20 work-related deaths had been reported this year and he did not want to see any more people die.

"In November and December last year there were eight work-related deaths out of 29 for the year," he said.

"They were followed by another five in January."