06:31 am, Friday 22 May, 2009

A report released by Victoria’s safety watchdog recommends that safety inspections be undertaken during stevedoring as a means of reducing injury.

Risks to stevedoring workers include injury from cargo handling, slips, trips and falls, changes in weather or light and incorrect estimates of time required to undertake the work.

According to WorkSafe, workers in the industry are undertaking loading and discharge of cargo vessels without regularly inspecting the vessel and cargo. A consequence of this is that stevedoring companies may not provide sufficient or Appropriate Equipment and personnel to safely undertake the task.

WorkSafe says the risk of injury can be reduced by regularly inspecting the working environment when the vessel arrives at port, prior to work commencing and throughout loading/discharge as working conditions change.

Stevedoring operations should develop a Risk Management Program to recognise when inspections are required and ensure they are implemented, regularly check the condition of vessel equipment and gear and ensure supervisors are involved in inspections.

Report by Julia Alder - Do you have an OHS News Story - Let us know

06:18 am, Friday 22 May, 2009

Cement Australia and the Australian Workers Union are offering former workers at a Tasmanian Cement Works a free lung screening program.

The plant once produced asbestos cement products and is now run by Cement Australia, which is investigating the health of current and former employees.

Asbestos can take 40 years to affect a person’s health, and unions have urged workers to take advantage of the screening offer. The program will involve a free lung function test and a medical check, including chest x-rays.

Report by OHS News Reporter Julia Alder – Do you have an OHS News Story - Let us know

Report by Julia Alder - Do you have an OHS News Story - Let us know

06:04 am, Thursday 21 May, 2009

ource: The Age

Almost a third of Long-Distance Truck Drivers have used stimulants such as amphetamines, research shows.

Work pressure is a key factor, it shows.

Ann Williamson of the University of NSW said use of stimulants was higher among drivers who were paid on how productive they were rather than by the hour.

A survey by the university showed drivers on stimulants worked an average 71.4 hours a week and those who were not averaged 65 hours.

The survey of about 200 drivers was made in 2005.

Professor Williamson has surveyed drivers since the early 1990s and has found the use of stimulants is widespread.

Her research was presented to an annual Transport Workers Union conference this week as it today launches a campaign against supermarket chains Coles and Woolworths over driver safety.

TWU national secretary Tony Sheldon said a lopsided number of road deaths involved trucks and this was linked to how drivers were paid.

“There is a link between remuneration and safety and as we know there’s a link with all that and the economics of getting a lower cost,” he said. “It costs money to maintain a vehicle, it costs money to change drivers over.”

In the year to March, heavy vehicles were involved in 275 deaths in Australia – more than 20 per cent of all road deaths. But heavy vehicle registrations were only about 2 per cent of the total.

Other academics at the conference linked road deaths to fatigue, poor mental health and work pressure.

Mr Sheldon said trucking needed rates of pay that allowed enough return to discourage dangerous practices.

He accused Coles and Woolworths of not properly tackling the issue.

A Coles spokesman said the union’s claims were without basis. “We take workplace health and safety very seriously,” he said.

Report by Julia Alder - Do you have an OHS News Story - Let us know

06:04 am, Thursday 21 May, 2009

WorkSafe has warned Scoresby businesses to improve their health and safety performance after 251 safety issues were identified during a five-day safety campaign.

WorkSafe inspectors visited 117 businesses in Scoresby as part of WorkSafe’s ‘Safer Work Zones’ campaign from 11-15 May.

The Safer Work Zones campaign aims to help small businesses improve health and safety and return to work.

The disappointing results arose from failing to observe basic safety rules.

The 251 safety issues included:

• One prohibition notice which ordered a business to stop using an Elevated Work Platformwhere the safety gate did not close properly and workers were at risk of falling off the platform.
• 191 improvement notices requiring businesses to fix safety issues such as replacing guards on machines, maintaining Forklifts, eliminating hazardous Manual Handling, removing trip hazards and preventing falls from mezzanine floors.
• 59 safety issues which were fixed on-the-spot. These included basic safety actions such as appropriately restraining gas cylinders, removing keys from forklifts when they are not in use and keeping records of chemicals up to date.

Inspectors will soon return to Scoresby to ensure notices are complied with.

WorkSafe’s Executive Director, John Merritt said, “it is good that nearly 60 issues were fixed on-the-spot and that more will be fixed because of WorkSafe’s notices, but finding more than 250 safety issues in five days is a dreadful reflection on one suburb.”

“Identifying this many issues suggests too many Scoresby businesses aren’t systematically managing their health and safety to identify and fix problems.”

Many of these businesses were advised in advance that inspectors would be in the area.

“If people are waiting for someone to be hurt or killed before they take safety seriously WorkSafe will use its legal powers. Plenty of people take that approach and end up telling it to magistrates and judges.

“If you’re waiting for WorkSafe to tell you what to do you’re avoiding your responsibilities and putting lives at risk. It’s not just the high profile deaths you should be worried about but dreadful burns, paraplegia, and brain damage.

“Even lesser injuries have an enormous effect on individuals and businesses which often go under as a result of safety incidents or lose key staff and have their reputations undermined.

WorkSafe is concerned that 22 breaches to the Accident Compensation Act were also identified during the campaign. In some cases employers had not kept registers of injuries or displayed information about what people should do if they were hurt.

Two businesses were also found to have had insufficient WorkSafe injury insurance policies.

“If you run a business you have a responsibility to make sure it is safe. We know businesses are doing it tough at the moment, but safety has to be a priority.

“In tight economic times, staying on top of safety issues prevents the loss of individuals and key people being diverted from their real work to deal with an avoidable emergency.

Small businesses in Scoresby are encouraged to apply for WorkSafe’s Small Business Consultancy Service, which provides three hours of free, confidential safety advice for businesses with 50 employees or less.

More than 11,000 small businesses in Victoria have had great value from this program. Apply atWww.Worksafe.Vic.Gov.Au/Smallbusassist

WorkSafe can also help businesses deal with potential safety issues through its free and confidential telephone advisory service on 1800 136 089 or via the internet - Www.Worksafe.Vic.Gov.Au.

“While it might be tough to have a conversation about safety in your workplace, it’s easier than having a conversation with a worker, their family or the courts about an injury which could have easily been prevented.

“Safety isn’t just a job for WorkSafe. It’s a job for everyone in the community.

“It’s about protecting employers and workers, their wives and mothers, sisters, husbands, brothers, sons, workmates and anyone else who knows something needs to be made right.”

Report by Julia Alder - Do you have an OHS News Story - Let us know

06:01 am, Wednesday 20 May, 2009

Source: Courier Mail

The state government has reiterated its concerns about elements of the proposed nationalOccupational Health And Safety Regime, saying it will be inferior to Western Australia’s existing regime.

The Western Australian State Government has used today’s Workplace Relations Ministerial Council (WRMC) to reiterate its concerns about elements of the proposed national Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) regime.

Western Australian Commerce Minister Troy Buswell said the State Government supported the principle of nationally harmonised laws but could not support the introduction of an OHS regime which would adopt inferior standards to the existing State regime.

“We will continue our dialogue with the council but at this stage we are not committing to a system that we are not convinced is in the best interests of Western Australian workers and businesses,” Mr Buswell said.

“A key concern is that the national harmonisation process could result in the high standards of WA’s Occupational Health And Safety Laws being significantly diminished.

“We remain committed to the process and will consider the new model OHS laws in the spirit of co-operation, but we feel it has a long way to go before it outweighs the current tripartite process that operates very well for all stakeholders here in WA.”

While Western Australia is prepared to accept the vast majority of recommendations of the review panel, the Government told today’s WRMC that it was unable to support the recommendations regarding:

- The introduction of a conciliation concept for resolution of issues

- Power for Health and Safety Representatives to stop work

- Reverse onus of proof for discrimination issues

- Level of penalties

- Right of entry.

WA also raised its concerns about the two-thirds majority voting process to be adopted by the council, saying it had the potential to be open to abuse in future decision-making processes.

Report by Julia Alder - Do you have an OHS News Story - Let us know

05:48 am, Tuesday 19 May, 2009

Federal Workplace Relations Minister Julia Gillard is promoting a national OH&S regime, but she is meeting resistance from NSW.

According to the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Australia’s nine separate OHS jurisdictions feature about 60 acts, more than 80 regulations and more than 260 approved codes of practice.

In NSW, there exists an absolute duty of care on employers to Provide A Safe Workplace. This means that in the event of an accident, WorkCover or unions do not need to prove that the workplace is unsafe.

In NSW, unions are also able to conduct prosecutions and there are generous rights of entry by union officials to workplaces suspected of breaching the laws

NSW Industrial Relations Minister Joe Tripodi favours a reversal of the onus of proof, meaning WorkCover must prove a breach, but only in relation to corporations, not individual employers.

In effect, this compromise would mean small business operators or company directors would be less likely to face large fines, or even jail, under OHS laws.

However Mr Tripodi said he would continue to argue for rights of entry and union-led prosecutions.

Unions have mounted an advertising campaign against national laws that water down aspects of the tough regime operating in NSW.

However, it is understood NSW will not oppose a national model, since rejecting OHS law reform would send a negative message to potential investors in NSW.

Report by OHS News Reporter Julia Alder – Do you have an OHS News Story - Let us know

Report by Julia Alder - Do you have an OHS News Story - Let us know

05:48 am, Tuesday 19 May, 2009

Source: Courier Mail

Queensland school’s second major health scare in less than two months has sparked calls for a review of the use of private contractors in state schools.

The first incident occurred during school hours on April 7 at Undurba State School at Murrumba Downs, on Brisbane’s northern outskirts, when Wall Sheeting Containing Asbestos was cut by private contractors to install an airconditioning unit, creating a dust cloud in the classroom.

Children were playing in a nearby outdoor area.

The building was immediately sealed off and has since been decontaminated, with carpet and classroom equipment thrown out.

But it has been revealed that a second building at Undurba was sealed off last week after testing found traces of asbestos. The tests were conducted after concerns were raised about a renovation of the building during last September’s school holidays.

The building had been used for the care of pupils before and after school.

Queensland Teachers’ Union president Steve Ryan said: “The room concerned has now been blocked off. It doesn’t rule out the possibility of people having been in contact with asbestos prior to that.”

Ryan said many schools were around to save money.

Last year, the Government changed policy to allow schools to use tradespeople other than its construction arm, QBuild.

Education Minister Geoff Wilson was unavailable for comment last week.

Electrical Trades Union representative Peter Ong said he feared some private firms did not have QBuild’s stringent standards.

Asbestos Industry Association president Michael Shepherd called for a more rigorous process in assessing contractors who worked in schools.

His call comes as $200 million worth of renovations and repairs to schools across Queensland begins under the Federal Government’s National School Pride program.

Workplace Health And Safety revealed it had received 2000 complaints in three years about asbestos issues, but it had issued only 119 fines totalling $104,000.

A spokeswoman said most of the complaints involved do-it-yourself home renovations, which were referred to local councils.

Two firms and three people have been prosecuted since 2002.

Asbestos workers accused the Government of sending a soft message about potentially lethal work practices. Demolishers, Recyclers and Asbestos Contractors Association president Trevor Lyons said the number of fines was “insignificant”.

An Education Queensland spokesman said the Undurba building was tested on Monday. Parents were notified the next day that two of 27 swabs contained asbestos.

The room would be professionally cleaned and would not be reoccupied until a certificate of clearance was issued.

Report by Julia Alder - Do you have an OHS News Story - Let us know

06:22 am, Monday 18 May, 2009

SafeWork SA is investigating an incident where a Carpenter fell 2.4m on to a concrete slab at a housing development worksite.

The man, aged in his 40s, missed his footing when dragging Roof Trusses on a building under construction.

A police spokeswoman said the man was “slipping in and out of consciousness” before ambulance officers arrived. He was reported to be in a stable condition in hospital.

SafeWork said falls accounted for 20 per cent of workplace injuries. That rate is double in theConstruction Industry.

Report by OHS News Reporter Julia Alder – Do you have an OHS News Story - Let us know

Report by Julia Alder - Do you have an OHS News Story - Let us know

06:13 am, Monday 18 May, 2009

In an attempt to improve safety on building and construction sites in Queensland, the State Government has launched the Zero Harm at Work Leadership Program.

In 2008, 15 workers per 1000 were injured in Queensland. However, when it came to theConstruction Industry, this figure increased to 18 workers injured per 1000.

The program aims to create significant cultural changes. It was launched at a forum attended by 50 CEOs and industry leaders from the construction industry.

The program will encourage organisations to conduct ongoing forums to foster and promote leadership in workplace health and safety in the construction industry, and provide practical advice, support, materials and tools to implement a zero harm culture.

While the first forum targeted construction CEOs, the program will be expanded to include other high-risk industries.

Report by OHS News Reporter Julia Alder – Do you have an OHS News Story - Let us know

Report by Julia Alder - Do you have an OHS News Story - Let us know

05:54 am, Monday 18 May, 2009

WorkCover is investigating an incident where a pile of dirt collapsed on top of twoConstruction Workers.

One man died and another was seriously injured at the building site in the Hunter Valley.

The construction workers became trapped inside a bungee pool at a horse training facility. The bungee pool was to be used to train horses and had previously been Excavated with machinery.

Three men were working on the walls of the pool when they collapsed, trapping two of them.

One worker trapped from the waist down was freed and airlifted to John Hunter Hospital, where he remains in a stable condition with a cut to head and bruising.

Emergency workers are mounting a recovery operation for the body of the second man.

Report by OHS News Reporter Julia Alder – Do you have an OHS News Story - Let us know

Report by Julia Alder - Do you have an OHS News Story - Let us know