![]() |
|
|
|
|
| OHS Systems | Work Method Statements |
Safety Training |
OHS Audits | Safety Shop | OHS News |
|
For the latest update on OHS News and information from across Australia. OHS News - July 2009VIC: Army Fined For Cadet DeathThu Jul 2 2009 07:15 a.m. The Australian Defence Force (ADF) has been fined $210,000 by the Federal Court under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (the OHS Act) over the death of a cadet who had an allergic reaction to nuts. Nathan Francis was a Year 9 student at Melbourne's Scotch College when he went on his first Australian Army Cadet camp in March 2007, in the Wombat State Forest in central Victoria. He died from anaphylactic shock after eating one mouthful of food containing peanuts. On the first day of the camp, Nathan had been given beef satay from an army ration pack, despite his parents providing a written letter telling the camp's organisers he was allergic. Later that afternoon, Nathan arrived at the Royal Children's Hospital, but he was pronounced dead on arrival. The federal health and safety body, Comcare brought the proceedings against the ADF through the Commonwealth. The Court found the ADF had breached its duty to take all reasonably practical steps to protect the health and safety of its cadets. But Justice North was unhappy with the outcome under the OHS Act, which essentially means one federal government agency, the ADF, pays another, Comcare. He has called for laws to be changed since he is concerned that Justice North, who described the case as 'every parent's worse nightmare,' strongly recommended the Victorian Coroner investigate the circumstances surrounding Nathan's death so the role of Scotch College could be examined. Although it was an ADF program, Scotch College staff were running the cadet camp. However, the school has avoided responsibility so far because it is not covered by the OHS Act. The ADF has since conducted an investigation into rations given to cadets and made improvements in the way allergies were managed. Report by OHS News Reporter Julia Alder - Do you have an OHS News Story - Let us know VIC: Equipment Manufacturer Fined for Confusing Plant InstructionsTue Jun 30 2009 07:15 a.m. A sales and distribution company has been fined $140,000 for failing to provide proper instructions for use of a rock crusher, which led to the death of a worker. In 2005, a man died at a Donnybrook quarry while carrying out routine maintenance on a rock crusher supplied by the manufacturer to his employer. Part of the crusher, a steel plate weighing 1.3 tonnes, fell from its mounts and hit the man who was in the crusher box. Additionally, the judge said the training provided by the company was unsatisfactory, made more serious by the fact that the task was inherently dangerous and had clear and significant risks. Charges against the employer will be heard at a later date. Report by OHS News Reporter Julia Alder - Do you have an OHS News Story - Let us know SA: Employer fined $72K Over Apprentice DeathTue Jun 30 2009 07:15 a.m. A company was fined $72,000 on Friday in the SA Industrial Court over the death of a first-year apprentice in 2006. The company was charged with breaching s19(1) of the Occupational Health Safety and Welfare Act 1986, in failing to ensure a worker was safe from injury and risks to health at work. The worker was employed by Engineering Employers Association SA Group Training Scheme Incorporated (EEAGTS) and was placed at the company as an apprentice. EEAGTS had earlier been fined $60,000. The Court heard that the 18 year old worker had been operating a boring machine when his dustcoat, which was issued by the employer, got caught in the machine's rotating spindle. He was sucked into the machine and flung around its inside with sufficient force to sever both his feet and injure most of his body. The apprentice had been working for the company for about 10 months, had been working unsupervised and was trained by another apprentice. A worker nearby was alerted to the incident by loud banging noises coming from the apprentice's work area and rushed to turn the machine off. However it did not have an emergency stop device. The court ruled that the employer failed to: * completely guard the machine; * ensure the machine had interlocking devices to prevent contact with dangerous moving parts; and * ensure there was nothing to prevent the accidental activation of the machine's continuous run button. The company also lacked a personal protective equipment policy prohibiting the wearing of loose-fitting dustcoats. Following the incident, the employer engaged an expert to review the entire operation and to implement new hazard assessments on all machinery. The company was convicted and fined a total of $72,000 out of a maximum of $100,000. Report by OHS News Reporter Julia Alder - Do you have an OHS News Story - Let us know VIC: Get safety off to a flying start in the new financial yearTue Jun 30 2009 06:03 a.m. WorkSafe has announced the areas being targeted in the 2009-2010 Safe Towns and Safer Work Zones inspection campaigns.
“The aim of these campaigns is to help a small business community make improvements, together and at the same time, to build community capability so injuries and deaths are prevented rather than responding to issues after the event. QLD: WorkSafe Investigates Gymnast's Fatal FallMon Jun 29 2009 06:14 a.m. QLD workplace health and safety authorities are investigating the death of a 19-year-old woman in a gymnastics training accident last week in north Queensland. Michelle Maitland, a former Queensland state gymnastics champion, suffered fatal head injuries when she fell from a 2-foot-high (60cm) tumbling trampoline while competing in a gymnastics class. She was admitted to Townsville General Hospital in a critical condition, but later died. Gymnastics Queensland executive director Wayne Hill said he was not clear on the circumstances of the accident. "I think she hit her head on a floor well away from the tumble track," he said. "They've got matting around the tumble track and within all the requirements that we put down as the governing body -- it was just something that was totally freakish." "As the sport's governing body in Queensland, we impose stringent safety measures, of which Townsville Gymnastics has a good track record of adherence and governance," he said. "This was an unfortunate and extremely rare incident and we will cooperate fully with Workplace Health and Safety as part of its investigation." Report by OHS News Reporter Julia Alder - Do you have an OHS News Story - Let us know VIC: Builder Fined for Unsafe ExtensionsMon Jun 29 2009 06:05 a.m. A builder has been fined $10,000 after he made unsafe alterations to a double-storey house in Williamstown. Hobsons Bay City Council issued an order to the builder to stop work, after it discovered that he had made significant alterations to the house without building permits. Further inspections revealed that the owner was proceeding with building work despite the order. Hobsons Bay mayor Peter Hemphill said the works were particularly dangerous. The builder will pay $2492 to the council. The magistrate described the renovations as one of the worst cases she had presided over. Report by OHS News Reporter Julia Alder - Do you have an OHS News Story - Let us know WA: Worker Killed by Falling Steel BeamMon Jun 29 2009 05:59 a.m. WorkSafe is investigating an incident that occurred last week where a 58-year-old man was killed on a construction site in Kwinana after he was hit by a falling steel beam. The worker was standing in the bucket of an elevating work platform when he was struck by the steel beam. He was rushed to hospital but later died. Report by OHS News Reporter Julia Alder - Do you have an OHS News Story - Let us know SA: Sawmill Company Fined for Unguarded MachineryMon Jun 29 2009 05:51 a.m. A sawmill company has been fined $7,500 for failing to maintain plant in a safe condition which led to a worker injuring his leg. The incident occurred at the company’s premises where it cuts wood to manufacture pallets, boxes and crates. During an operation to cut timber with a twin-edge saw, a log fell from its position on the machine. A worker went to retrieve the log and was caught by his shorts in an unguarded chain and sprocket that were in motion. A co-worker hit the emergency stop. The injured worker suffered a laceration to the groin area, but recovered fully and was able to return to work three weeks later. A SafeWork SA investigation found a roller on the machine had been removed for repairs. Although the injured worker was partly to blame for venturing into a restricted area, the guard that would otherwise have covered the exposed chain and socket had not been replaced. Report by OHS News Reporter Julia Alder - Do you have an OHS News Story - Let us know |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|