07:53 pm, Thursday 31 December, 2009

A man who sustained facial burns due to a firework display that backfired is now facing potential prosecution for his troubles.

The 24 year old Sunbury man was lighting the wick of the fireworks when they exploded in his face at 12.40 am on December 28.

He was taken to the Royal Melbourne Hospital after the incident.

David Spencer, spokesman  for Victoria Police , said they were investigating the matter. The incident will also be referred to WorkSafe, which prosecutes the illegal use of fireworks.

Under Victoria law, only licensed pyrotechnicians, those under their direct supervision, and occasional licence holders are allowed to use fireworks. People caught guiltyof illegal possession or discharge of fireworks can face penalties of up to $40,000 and 15 years imprisonment.

The December 28 accident follows the arrest of five men last month for a series of explosions, one of which was suspected to have started a landscape fire. Over two weeks ago, a scrubfire started in the Wombat State Forest, with fireworks being blamed as the cause.

The CFA, MFB, police and WorkSafe have endorsed the message of fire awareness and injury prevention in relation to illegal firework displays.

CFA specialist response officer Craig Brownlie said a lot of people might think lighting illegal fireworks is just a bit of fun.

“It is not. One spark from a firework landing in the grass is going to spark a fire,” Mr Brownlie said.

In addition to potential landscape fires, improper use of fireworks can lead to amputations, abrasions, blindness and deafness.

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07:50 pm, Thursday 31 December, 2009

Workplace Health and Safety Queensland has formally charged construction giant Thiess over the death of a subcontractor who worked on Brisbane’s Eastern Busway project last year.

The charges stem from the death 25 year old Tom Takarua on 1 December 2008. Both of his legs were severed by a 18-metre bridge beam which fell six metres from its pier supports to the ground.

Mr Takarua was stationed in a cherry picker at the busway’s Woolloongabba construction site when an 18-tonne concrete beam fell on top of him. Two co-workers of Takarua who were with him in the cherry picker managed to crawl out from the rubble.

The construction was temporarily halted while worksafe inspectors conducted an investigation of the incident.

According to Workplace Health and Safety Queensland, the construction company has been charged with failing to meet its health and safety obligations.

The matter is listed for court mention on February 4.

In the wake of the recent development, Builders Labourers Federation secretary Dave Hanna said construction sites must be enforced by site managers.

“Fines and charges won’t bring our workers back, but we have got to look at the upside at what preventative measures are going to come out of this,” Mr Hanna said.

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06:52 pm, Wednesday 30 December, 2009

A demolition work gone wrong at Mulgrave has caused injuries to a contractor.

The 60 year old man was working on a roof of a building being demolished when the incident took place.

A part of the building collapsed under the contractor, causing him to fall about three metres and rode part of a roof to the ground.

He was later rushed to the Alfred Hospital. The man sustained injuries to his elbow, wrist and teeth.

The incident was the third significant structural collapse in Melbourne in a span of six weeks.

• On November 4, a medical clinic collapsed in Sydney Rd Brunswick.
• On December a 1, 15 metre long wall collapsed on a construction site in Lynch St Hawthorn, which trapped the legs of a worker.

WorkSafe Executive Director John Merritt said the recent incidents are a cause for concern. He said these are a sign that higher levels of safety must be put in place for the construction industries.

“It is only exceptionally good luck that these three incidents did not produce more serious injuries or deaths. Of the 30 work-related deaths in Victoria this year, six have been in construction-related work,” Mr Merritt noted.

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06:16 pm, Wednesday 30 December, 2009

The recent death of a 19 year old man while heat stress.

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07:30 pm, Tuesday 29 December, 2009

Fortescue Metals Group (FMG) is under investigation following a vehicular accident in Pilbara over the weekend.

The incident happened in the company’s Brampton Pit site, in which a truck crushed a light vehicle. This was the third serious incident reported by the company in the past month.

No one was injured, although the incident is under investigation for any possible breach of safety regulations.

Mining and Energy Union division Secretary Gary Wood said the mine’s Work Method Statement appeared to have been breached because there is supposed to be 30 metre distance between trucks and other vehicles at all times.

“Either procedure is not in place or it’s not adequately place with all employees, and that represents a failure from top to bottom,” Mr Wood said.

FMG voluntarily suspended operations until a government official has conducted an Onsite Inspection. A government improvement notice was nonetheless given to the company to ensure that the it had addressed factors which had led to the accident.

A Department of Mines inspector allowed the company to start mining again yesterday.

According to an FMG spokesman, the company still considers safety as its number one priority. It has conducted its own investigation, as required by the company’s internal procedure.

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06:34 pm, Tuesday 29 December, 2009

Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) has said that the surge in work-related deaths last year is a sign that Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) legislation should be strengthened, instead of being watered down.

During the period of 2008-9, there were 177 workplace-related fatal injuries recorded. The statistic has increased by 18% from the previous period.

ACTU has emphasised that the employees’ well being should be the top priority.

The group’s secretary Jeff Lawrence said the sharp rise of fatalities was alarming at a time when the provisions of the new OHS laws are perceived to weaken the worker’s rights.

“A double-digit increase in workplace fatalities in one year is shocking,” Mr Lawrence said.

“Each of these victims is someone’s partner, parent, son, daughter or friend.

“If any evidence was needed that requirements for employers to provide a safe workplace need to be toughened, this is it.”

The statistics released by Safe Work Australia has shown that worker deaths rose by 14% to 151 in 2008-9, while deaths of bystanders increased by 37% to 26.

The agriculture sector is one of the industries with the largest increases, along with forestry, mining and shipping.

Mr Lawrence said big businesses’ lobby to weaken OHS laws would put workers at risk. According to him, the objective of the new laws must be to improve safety systems, not to reduce business red tape at the expense of the workers’ welfare.

Unions are in the position that all workers involved in a work-related accident should have the option of initiating legal action. Moreover, the burden should be on the employer to prove the presence of a safe workplace, and not the other way around.

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11:39 am, Thursday 24 December, 2009

The harmonisation of OHS legislation throughout Australia will have a big impact on how companies operate. If you are an employer, now is the best time to review your OHS system.

As an employer, you are obliged to provide the following under OHS laws.

· Safe premises
· Safe materials and machinery
· Safe systems of work
· Appropriate Work Method Statements
· Safety Training, which includes information, instruction and supervision
· Suitable working environment and facilities.

Failure to comply with the legal requirements can lead to prosecution and fines.

It must be noted though, that an employer’s legal obligation may vary depending on the industry and territory he is operating in. For more information, please refer to your territory’s OHS authority.

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11:08 am, Thursday 24 December, 2009

A counsel for a company charged before the Industrial Court has alleged that the an investigation by SafeWork SA was flawed.

Quin Investments and its officer Nick Kuzub are charged due to a fatal blast in 2006 at Gladstone, where three workers were killed and two others were injured.

The munitions company is charged for failing to maintain safe equipment.

According to SafeWork SA, a mixing machine was not properly maintained, causing an explosion due to a “cook-off” effect.

Grant Germein, the lawyer for Quin Investment, refuted SafeWork SA’s findings.

He said the theory was implausible. He also alleged SafeWork SA failed to promptly conduct an Onsite Inspection.

Aside from the issue of safe equipment, prosecutor Liesl Chapman has alleged before the court that the company failed “to provide and maintain, as far as reasonably practical, a safe work environment”. She also told the court that “critical items” of the machinery had no proper Maintenance Records.

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10:41 am, Thursday 24 December, 2009

Colorful advertising balloons displayed in hundreds of Australian businesses can be pleasing to look at. However, they can cause destruction and harm if not properly installed.

Last year, a poorly secured balloon caused part of a building to fall to the street in Coburg when strong winds hit.

The seven metre high balloon collapsed and hung off the roof. Its ropes got tangled around a traffic light with a blower still attached.

The incident caused a brick pillar on the railing to smash through a shop awning and roofing iron and on to the footpath.

The incident resulted to minor injuries to two people, traffic disruption, and immediate risks of serious injuries to pedestrians.

Inflatable Event Company Pty, the company responsible for the snafu, pleaded guilty before the Heidelberg Magistrates Court for one workplace health and safety charge.

On 24 November 2009, Magistrate Brian Clifford fined the Inflatable Event Company $10,000. He also ordered it to pay WorkSafe’s costs of $2787.

An investigation by WorkSafe Victoria revealed that the wrong type of screws was used by a trainee to attach the brackets to the timber roofs as anchor points.

50mm screws are suitable for attaching a balloon to a timber roof section. 35 mm screws, more appropriate for metal, were used to pin the balloon down.

The more experienced of the two installers did not check the installation made by the trainee, while the company failed to emphasise the Safety Procedures to be followed for the work.

WorkSafe’s Legal Services and Investigations Division Director Stan Krpan said any form of advertising must be fixed to the buildings carefully. The likelihood of strong winds must also be factored in for installation work.

“Whether it’s a large inflatable balloon or an advertising sign, not securing it properly coupled with the winds that frequently hit Melbourne can create problems,” Mr Krpan said.

“At the very least it will cause inconvenience and damage to the structure on which it’s mounted; in other situations that damage can spill on to roads, pedestrians, bring down power lines and so on. In turn, that can cause serious injury and death.”

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09:47 am, Thursday 24 December, 2009

SafeWork SA is reminding companies in the hospitality and fast food industries to keep a close watch on their Safework Procedures involving working with hot liquids.

There had been a number of Food Handling incidents in recent months were workers were burned or scalded in the workplace. They are currently under investigation.

• On December 8, a 64-year-old casual worker figured in an accident while emptying hot oil from a fryer. The kiosk attendant suffered burns to face, neck and hands.
• On November 15, A 17-year-old worker was cleaning a drinking machine when hot water spilt from a bucket. The young man suffered second degree burns.
• On November 1, a 17-year-old employee dropped a bowl of hot water, causing burn injuries to his leg.
• On October 22, a 30-year-old employee suffered burns to feet, hand and wrist when he dropped a pan of hot brine in the restaurant he was working in.

SafeWork SA Executive Director Michele Patterson says her agency will investigate these incidents and review the findings.

“We will also monitor these industries to determine of broader action will need to be taken in the near future,” she says.

Ms Patterson says SafeWork SA is concerned that more businesses taking on casual workers over the holiday period will mean a higher potential for similar incidents to occur.

“Young people in particular are at a greater risk because of their inexperience,” says Ms Patterson.

“We know that common factors behind these types of incidents include unsuitable containers, which may be unstable, have no handles or insulation, are in poor condition or are too large to be easily handled.”

According to her, unstable work practices like manual handling of hot liquid-filled containers across slippery floors or balancing them on unstable surfaces add to the risks to workers.

SafeWork SA has given some simple guidelines to reduce the risk of harm:

• Undertake a risk assessment before moving or transferring hot liquids.
• Avoid unnecessary movement of hot liquids.
• Use smaller containers.
• Use purpose-built containers preferably with a secure lid.
• Allow hot fluids to cool first and check the temperature with a thermometer.
• Heat fluids at the place where they are actually needed.

Ms Patterson says that everyone in the workplace, from supervisors to managers, should make it a priority to look at how they handle hot liquids.

“In doing so, they need to consider the potential dangers and use the best means possible to eliminate the chance of serious injuries occurring.”

The executive director warned companies that failure to comply under workplace safety laws may lead to prosecution in appropriate circumstances, as SafeWork SA has done in the past.

In September, the Industrial Court fined a wine bottling company $18,750 following the scalding of an employee with hot water.

In November 2007, a Mt. Gambier hotel and its director were fined a  combined $48,000 after two male kitchen hands suffered serious scalding injuries from hot water in separate incidents while working in the kitchen area.

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