06:33 am, Tuesday 21 July, 2009

Source: The West

A construction worker crushed under 1.7 Tonnes Of Glass at a city building site was in a stable condition yesterday as the building union intensified its claims of poor Safety Standards.

Union boss Kevin Reynolds used the incident on Friday to hit back at State Government claims that unions were misusing safety issues to flex industrial muscles.

Treasurer Troy Buswell instructed Government officials last week to begin a tally of industrial strife at Perth building sites in a bid to prove that imminent new Federal industrial laws were boosting the strike rate.

It followed a strike last week by more than 100 workers at the BHP tower site, run by Multiplex, over alleged safety problems.

But Mr Reynolds, secretary of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union, said yesterday the accident at an Adelaide Terrace site showed that the union’s industry-wide concerns were legitimate.

He said workers were justified in exercising their industrial rights through strikes and stoppages because the accident proved that injuries were a real possibility.

Union assistant secretary Joe McDonald said he would hold all projects to Appropriate Safety Standards, even if it meant putting workers behind schedule.

Mr McDonald said he did not care if he or workers were fined for unlawful industrial action, as long as they were safe.

CFMEU official Matt Waters said the 39-year-old man was injured while helping unload a glass crate on the third floor of the Diploma construction site.

Sheets of glass broke free and fell on him. He was pinned from the waist down until co-workers got the sheets off him and taken to Royal Perth Hospital with serious injuries and for surgery to a badly broken femur.

Mr Waters said the incident highlighted the need for better safety practices on worksites.

“He’s very lucky. WorkSafe attended and even they said he was very, very lucky it wasn’t a fatal injury,” he said. “We need access to these bloody jobs so we can make sure things like this don’t happen again.”

A Royal Perth Hospital spokeswoman said yesterday the man was in a stable condition.

Diploma could not be contacted for comment.

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07:21 am, Monday 20 July, 2009

In an attempt to reduce deaths from Electrocution, the Western Australian Government will implement new residual current device (RCDs) regulations next month.

In recent years, 23 people including six children have been electrocuted in homes throughout the state. All of these deaths could have been prevented if RCDs had been fitted to the power points and lighting circuits.

The new legislation means every home sold or leased must be fitted with a minimum of two RCDs to protect all power points and lighting circuits.

Where a new tenant takes up residency, landlords will need to install the devices before the lease agreement is signed. However, for homes with a continuing tenancy, landlords have until 8 August 2011 to fit the RCDs.

The regulations can be found Here.

Fact Sheets are available to assist homeowners, persons selling their homes, landlords, tenants, real estate agents, property managers and electrical contractors on how to ensure homes comply with the new RCD laws.

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07:14 am, Monday 20 July, 2009

Farm Safety Week begins today in WA with the Farmsafe WA Alliance aiming to highlight areas of concern to pastoralists, such as road safety, child safety, four wheel motorbike safety, farm machinery safety and noise injury prevention.

Farmers and their families continue to be injured and killed on WA farms, with vehicles, falls and tractors the most common causes of farm fatalities.

People living in regional areas of WA are over represented in death and serious injury road statistics.

While almost one third of Regional Road Fatalities in 2008 were not wearing a seatbelt, speed and drink driving are also contributing factors.

One child dies every fortnight on Australian farms and one third of those children are visitors to farms.

More than 10 children are hospitalised each week due to injuries and about 77 per cent of children killed were playing in the workplace at the time of the incident.

Four Wheel Motorbikes are also a major cause of death and serious injury on Australian farms with on average over 10 deaths a year associated with four wheel motorbikes.

More than 60 per cent of farmers have sustained Hearing Loss as part of their work. Although not life-threatening, hearing loss still results in major health and social impacts on farmers and their families.

Thirty-four per cent of deaths on Australian farms are associated with plant and equipment, such as tractors.

Tractor Deaths and injury occur from tractor run-overs, rollover and entanglement in power take-off shafts (PTOs).

Design features for tractors such as rollbars, neutral start switches and safe operator access have improved the situation, but injuries are still common.

As part of Farm Safety Week, Farmsafe WA will be releasing daily media releases to provide more information and tips on how to work towards reducing such statistics.

Fact sheets will also be made available.

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07:08 am, Monday 20 July, 2009

WorkSafe WA is investigating a workplace death yesterday after a 62-year-old man fell from an elevated platform.

The Transport Operator was killed at a Karratha transport yard in the state’s Pilbara region while transferring an elevated work platform from the trailer of one truck to another.

A ramp he was driving down at the time collapsed.

His death was the 10th fatality at a WA workplace this year.

The UnionsWA acting secretary, Simone McGurk, said the real figure for workplace deaths could be higher.

“If mining companies reported road fatalities for fly-in fly-out workers travelling between worksites and employer-provided accommodation, the fatality figures would be significantly higher.”

She said Worksafe and the WA Mines Department had failed to investigate two deaths at work and how another worker was seriously injured when a vehicle crashed on a Goldfields road near a BHP Billiton site in June, 2008.

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07:01 am, Monday 20 July, 2009

A 3.5 kilogram steel plate from the Southern Star Observation Wheel at Melbourne’s Docklands fell 25 metres to the ground on Thursday, landing in a public area and narrowly missing Construction Workers.

The 13mm thick plate fell from the wheel because its fixing bolts had been removed in recent weeks. The plate was held in place only by paint.

When the wheel was turned as part of its decommissioning process, the paint seal broke and the plate fell to the ground.

It struck the tyre of an excavator that was on the ground.

WorkSafe Victoria, which is investigating the incident, ordered the safety barriers around the tourist attraction to be moved further out and an inspection of all similar plates to ensure they were securely bolted on.

The incident is the latest in a series of problems that have plagued the $120 million giant observation wheel.

The wheel is currently undergoing $20 million worth of warranty work after it was closed in January when extreme heat exacerbated structural flaws. It had only been open to the public for a few weeks.

Cracks up to 60 centimetres were discovered in several nodes that join the wheel’s spokes to the hub.

Earlier, during the construction phase, a two-metre strip of aluminium fell 70 metres, and WorkSafe warned of several safety concerns including loose bolts and poor staff training. Two cabins were severely damaged during testing last November.

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07:21 am, Friday 17 July, 2009

Source: Examiner

A waste recycling company conducted a Health And Safety Audit just two months before an explosion that killed two contractors, an inquest heard yesterday.

Then Collex Health And Safety officer Philip Wise yesterday gave evidence in the investigation into the 2005 deaths of 34-year-old Bruce Beamish, of Turners Beach, and 40-year-old Adrian Chugg, of White Hills.

The explosion occurred at the Invermay site of the company, now known as Veolia Environmental Services.

Contactors Mr Chugg and Mr Beamish were welding a level indicator sensor to the side of a 15 metre-high tank when oil gases ignited, causing an explosion that killed both men instantly.

Under questioning by Beamish family lawyer Ken Read, Mr Wise told Coroner Steve Carey that he had identified the need for a sensor but the site manager failed to inform him they intended to have one fitted.

Mr Wise also identified a lack of appropriate signage warning of explosive risk.

Appropriate risk assessments were not being conducted on site.

“You identified the problems and no one listened,” Mr Read suggested.

“True,” Mr Wise replied.

Veolia’s lawyer, David Gunson, SC, said that while Collex’s complacency on that site had been identified, the same could be assumed of Mr Beamish and Mr Chugg.

“They’d just assume they knew what they were doing,” Mr Wise said.

Mr Gunson asked what factors the two victims should have considered.

“Mr Chugg, having knowledge of boilers, should’ve been able to do a risk assessment with a fair amount of clarity,” Mr Wise said.

“What they were about to embark on was inherently dangerous work.”

The inquest continues this morning.

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06:27 am, Friday 17 July, 2009

Source: Perth Now

WA unions have called for more investigations into workplace accidents after a 62-year-old man was killed while working in the state’s Pilbara region.

WorkSafe WA said the man was killed at a Karratha transport depot yesterday while transferring anElevating Work Platform from one truck to another.

A ramp he was driving down at the time is believed to have failed.

UnionsWA acting secretary Simone McGurk said the man, employed as an operator by N and L Transport, would be listed as the 10th fatality at a WA workplace this year.

But Ms McGurk said the real figure for workplace deaths could be higher.

She called for a broadening in the definition of a workplace accident. Current narrower definitions could be used as an excuse not to investigate some incidents.

“If mining companies reported road fatalities for fly-in fly-out workers travelling between worksites and employer-provided accommodation, the fatality figures would be significantly higher,” Ms McGurk said.

She said Worksafe and the WA Mines Department had failed to investigate two deaths at work and how another worker was seriously injured when a Vehicle Crashed on a Goldfields road near a BHP Billiton site in June, 2008.

WorkSafe WA said it is investigating the Karratha accident that claimed the 62-year-old’s life.
It was being sought for comment on the union claims.

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06:13 am, Wednesday 15 July, 2009

WorkSafe is calling on Victoria’s farm families to realistically assess dangers and to take steps to reduce or, ideally, eliminate them, during national Farm Safety Week.

Use of Quad Bikes without helmets and carrying passengers on them; Tractors Without Rollover Protection or not applying brakes; unguarded equipment and poor Chemical Storage are among the major farm safety issues which must be reviewed.

WorkSafe’s Executive Director, John Merritt, said quad bikes and tractors were found on virtually every Victorian farm and many small holdings.

“They’re used for work and, in the case of quad bikes, for recreation, often by people who are out on their own.

“When something goes wrong, it can take hours, even days, for others to realise you’re in trouble and begin a search. Once that happens, it can then be hard to get an injured person out,” Mr Merritt said.

WorkSafe has produced a range of publications about farm safety which can be found online atWww.Worksafe.Vic.Gov.Au. They include ‘All Terrain Vehicles On Farms’, the ‘15 Minute Farm Safety Checklist’ and the recently updated 12 Ways To Make A Small Business Safer.

Small businesses can also apply for a free and independent three-hour safety consultancy by contacting WorkSafe or the Victorian Farmers Federation (you do not have to be a member).

While work-related farm deaths get a lot of coverage – there have been six since January – injury rates are also very high and the so called ‘near misses’ will be higher again.

Mr Merritt said farm safety wasn’t just about people doing the work – often the property owners – but also their families, children, parents and neighbours.

“Everyone who will be touched by a death or serious injury has a role to play in making Victorian farms as safe as possible.

“Dead or injured people on farms are often found by immediate family members, often wives, or neighbours who notice something wrong.”

WorkSafe plays a part by conducting inspection, producing publications, providing information stands at field days and even prosecutions, but ultimately this has to become a community issue beginning with individuals and families.

“Farm safety groups are active in many parts of the state, but where these don’t exist discussing potential issues with family, workers or neighbours should produce solutions.

“The advantage of having a neighbour help you review potential safety issues is that they don’t know your property as well as you. They can pick up things you might miss.

“The only rule is you can’t say ‘Just be careful’ or ‘I’m always careful’. That’s a cop-out.

“Developing a systematic approach, fixing known hazards even if they haven’t been an issue for you in the past, ensuring people are properly trained and supervised and making sure you and others follow the rules is what saves lives.

Work-related farm fatalities in 2009*

• 14 January: A man died after falling from a horse while as he shifted cattle in East Gippsland.
• 21 February: A boy under 2, was run over by a tractor when he fell from its bucket at Creswick.
• 1 March: A farmer died after his quad bike rolled down an embankment.
• 27 March: A farmer died in hospital after the ATV he was riding flipped in West Gippsland.
• 29 March: An South Gippsland farmer died when he was run over by his tractor.
• 12 May: A farmer suffered fatal injuries after his tractor ran over him.

* Does not include fatalities that occur in non-work incidents e.g. recreational activities

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07:23 am, Monday 13 July, 2009

The Queensland Government has introduced new safety standards for Swing-Stage Scaffolding on high-rise buildings in Queensland, amending the State’s Scaffolding Code of Practice.

The Government says that the changes to the Code will prioritise the safety of workers onConstruction Sites.

Swing-stages are suspended work platforms that allow work to be done on the exterior of buildings, and they are commonly used in the construction and maintenance of high-rise buildings.

In 2008, two workers died on the Gold Coast after a swing-stage scaffold collapsed. The Government set up an independent reference group, to recommend ways of improving the safety of workers on swing-stages.

The 2009 Code includes:

* new standards for the design, installation and use of swing-stage scaffolding;
* practical advice on ways to manage exposure to the risk of death or injury related to the erection, maintenance, alteration and dismantling of scaffolding;
* new checklists and verification forms to improve compliance and ensure obligation holders are aware of their safety requirements; and
* provisions that require mandatory training for installers and users of swing-stages.

The State Government will also develop new training courses for workers, which it says will be up and running by the end of the year.

As the new Code is being implemented, interim requirements set down by Workplace Health And Safety Queensland will still apply.

These include the mandatory use of fall-arrest or restraint systems, mandatory involvement of engineers to approve the design and installation of swing-stages prior to use, load testing prior to use, and mandatory checks of relevant competencies and experience for all workers involved in the installation and use of swing-stages.

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

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07:16 am, Monday 13 July, 2009

The Victorian Magistrates Court has fined a cleaning company $50,000 after a worker’s arm was amputated by a waste skip in 2007.

The worker was crushed by the skip as it was being loaded onto a Prime Mover, and also sustained a fractured left leg, a shattered knee and five broken ribs.

The court heard that there were no barriers or exclusion zones preventing workers from accessing the area while the skips were being removed. Nor was there Adequate Instruction, Training And Supervision provided to workers regarding the dangers of cleaning around the skips.

The employer pleaded guilty to breaching the OHS Act 2004.

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