05:29 pm, Friday 19 February, 2010

McCain Foods (Australia) Pty Ltd has been fined $145,000 today over an accident at its Ballarat plant, which severed a workers thumb.

The Ballarat County Court was told that two fitters and an electrician tried to fix a machine which peals and cleans potatoes in 2007. The broken machine was on a manual setting, although the three believed that it had already been isolated through its control switches.

One of the maintenance fitters tried to loosen a chain by inserting his hand in the machine. With the man’s hand still inside, the machine unexpectedly started up, amputating his left thumb.

After the incident, the company has made changes to its plant and equipment policy in accordance with improvement notices issued WorkSafe. A new lockout procedure has been developed for the machine. It has also labeled every piece of equipment to indicate whether multiple isolations are needed or not.

In 2008, McCain Foods was convicted for a similar accident at the same plant. A maintenance mechanic was working on a pizza shredder when in suddenly started, flaying the worker’s finger in the process.

McCain Foods was also prosecuted for workplace safety and health violations in 1983, 1986, 1991, 2002 and 2003.

WorkSafe Victoria’s Acting Director Stan Krpan said, “Being a leader in the community is about accepting responsibility and showing leadership in safety. We expect large organisations with considerable resources to do the right thing.”

“Locking out and de-energising machinery is a basic requirement for any maintenance job. Sometimes protecting your workers is as easy as having a few systematic safety steps in place to make sure this happens.”

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04:49 pm, Friday 19 February, 2010

Poor supervision is being blamed as one of the reasons of the high number of injuries in construction sites.

As part of WorkSafe’s ‘Back to Basics’ campaign, inspectors will put emphasis on site supervision in the field of residential and commercial construction.

The renewed focus on supervisors is an acknowledgment that safety is non-negotiable in Victorian construction sites.

The director of WorkSafe’s Construction and Utilities Program, Chris Webb, said each party must be aware of his safety responsibilities, as well as those of others in a construction project.

“Whether you’re a principal contractor, site supervisor, contractor or tradesperson, everyone has a role to play in site safety,” Mr Webb said.

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04:26 pm, Friday 19 February, 2010

Fatigue, glare and converging flights are seen as the causes of a collision of two helicopters, which cost the life of two pilots.

The pilots were mustering livestock in Kimberley region when the tragic accident happened on 5 May 2009.

According to the Air Transport Safety Bureau’s (ATSB) final report in the incident, the log books of both pilots revealed that they had spent an excessive number of hours in the air.

“In the nine days preceding the accident, both pilots had logged six flight days that were in excess of nine hours’ duration,” the report said.

“It was likely that both pilots were experiencing a degree of fatigue that may have negatively affected their performance at the time of the accident.”

The ATSB said the helicopters collided mid-air while the pilots were positioning their R22 helicopters to start the muster.

“The converging flight paths of the helicopters, pilot fatigue and sun glare from the rising sun are identified as contributing safety factors to the accident,” its report said.

A fatigue-modelling program has been used to analyse the pilot’s log books. It indicated that “the duties and hours flown by both pilots were not conducive to optimal alertness levels”, the ATSB said.

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06:24 pm, Thursday 18 February, 2010

A booze bus has been zapped with 20,000 volts in Mulgrave after its overhead light mast struck powerlines on Thursday night.

The electrical charge caused the front left wheel of the bus, prompting the police to call the fire brigade, although there was no fire.

None of the 10 police officers were on the bus when the incident occurred.

Inspector Martin Boorman of the Traffic Drug and Alcohol Section said they have strict guidelines to prevent similar incidents. They are coordinating with WorkSafe to look into the incident.

“As part of the investigation process, all the processes and procedures will be reviewed and necessary action will be taken if there’s shortfalls found,” he said.

“We did have an incident … about 20 years ago where the mast light touched some powerlines and caused some problems, but since that time we’ve put in to place a whole range of safety procedures, and even within the designing of the vehicles there’s been safety precautions put in place.”

WorkSafe has always reminded people to be cautious when using tall machinery, especially around powerlines.

“If someone had been standing next to the bus, it could have been very serious,” WorkSafe spokesman Michael Birt said.

The incident caused a power outage in the area for about an hour.

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05:46 pm, Thursday 18 February, 2010

WorkSafe inspectors will be visiting Bayswater workplaces in May as part of the safety watchdog’s Safe Towns and Safer Work Zones campaign.

The inspections have been set for May 3-7 for Bayswater businesses. The crackdown is part of WorkSafe’s efforts to reduce the number of work-related injuries and deaths across the State.

Knox will also be visited, if the time permits. Knox has recorded 5430 claims, for a total of $84.71 million worth of medical bills, from July 2004 to June 2009.

WorkSafe spokesman Michael Birt said figures related only to serious cases where the person was either absent for at least 10 days or had more than $550 worth of medical expenses.

Mr Birt said 60 per cent of injuries related to manual handling and slips, trips and falls.

Under the campaign, WorkSafe will not impose fines on erring businesses. However, inspectors can order work stoppage until the safety issue is resolved.

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05:08 pm, Thursday 18 February, 2010

Minister for Finance Michael Daley has launched a program which focuses on safety in the restaurant and catering industry.

Mr Daley said the initiative will entail WorkCover and Restaurant and Catering NSW to have a partnership agreement. The partnership aims to reduce injuries and establish safe and cost-effective workplace practices throughout the industry.

“This industry represents around 2,500 businesses in New South Wales and the ACT and the partnership represents a commitment to develop sustainable work health and safety outcomes,” Mr Daley said.

“In 2007-08 there were 2,426 employment injuries in cafes and restaurants in New South Wales, costing the Workers Compensation Scheme and therefore employers more than $12.6 million.

“Sprains, strains and open wounds which involved fingers, hands and lower back were among the most common injuries reported.”

Restaurant and Catering NSW President Ian Martin said the industry has a mixed and mobile workforce, and employs many young people and those from diverse cultural backgrounds.

“The diversity of our workforce means there is a need for us to build a strong focus on safe work practices in our business,” he said.

“This partnership will help our members increase their capacity to develop practical and effective approaches to reduce injuries and help benchmark a safety culture across the industry,” he said.

“The partnership is one of nine alliances WorkCover has developed with a range of industries since 2007 that include the construction, manufacturing, boating and waste recycling sectors,” Mr Daley said.

“WorkCover will continue to seek opportunities to develop more industry partnerships in the future to help businesses meet their safety and injury management obligations.

“Although injury rates in New South Wales are at their lowest levels in more than two decades there is still more to be done to bring workers home safely at the end of the day.

“Safe businesses are productive businesses and this initiative is another example of the NSW Government’s commitment to working directly with industry to reduce workplace injuries and save lives,” he said.

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04:30 pm, Thursday 18 February, 2010

A factory worker has been shot with a nail gun in the leg in a workplace accident in Brisbane.

The 24-year-old man had been working at a Frindle Road Factory at Rocklea when the February 4 incident occurred.

The man had to be taken to the Princess Alexandra Hospital to remove the 15-centimetre nail lodged in his leg.

It is not known whether the worker was handling the nail gun when the accident took place.

The man is now in stable condition.

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04:06 pm, Thursday 18 February, 2010

ABOUT 20 businesses at Forest Glen on the Sunshine Coast were evacuated yesterday after about 900 litres of a dangerous chemical seeped out of a truck container .

A spoekesman for the Department of Community Safety said a truck loaded with timber treatment chemical shifted during transit at Mons Road, causing the hazardous substance to leak.

Queensland Fire and Rescue Service officers who arrived at the scene had to evacuated nearby businesses as a precaution. The workers were able to return to work by midday.

There were no reports of injury during the incident. However, environmental authorities and the Sunshine Coast Regional Council were looking into the possibility that the chemical had entered nearby Eudlo Creek via a drain.

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03:33 pm, Thursday 18 February, 2010

The Brumby Government has initiated an education, awareness and enforcement campaign to address workplace bullying in Victoria.

The new campaign, called Respect at Work, will mobilise WorkSafe Inspectors, as well as a dedicated team of specially trained professionals to focus on the most vulnerable workers and complex cases.

WorkSafe Minister Tim Holding said the campaign aims to help young and vulnerable workers in tackling bullying in the workplace.

“Bullying will not be tolerated but nor will silence. It is no excuse to see it happening and say and do nothing,” Mr Holding said.

“The consequences of bullying can be devastating for individuals and can have a toxic impact on workplaces.

“We want people to speak out on bullying and to stand up for each other. This is something that everyone needs to take responsibility for – bullying must be stopped in its tracks.”

Aside from inspections, the Respect at Work campaign will also raise awareness through advertising, community seminars, workplace visits, training, and partnerships with community groups.

According to Mr Holding, the inspectors have the power to respond to complaints, investigate instances of workplace bullying, and issue notices to develop anti-bullying strategies.

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01:34 pm, Thursday 18 February, 2010

The RingWood Magistrates Court has convicted and fined a Klitsch company for over a forklift accident which has led to the amputation of a worker’s leg.

On December 2008, a 22-year-old employee of Elliot Engineering Pty Ltd tried was driving a forklift, trying to make a right turn on an uneven and inclined gravel area, when the machine tipped over.

The worker tried to jump out of the forklift, but the machine landed on his feet and trapped him. His crushed leg had to be amputated.

The Court heard that the man had no license to operate a forklift. It was also found that he was not wearing a seat belt when the incident took place.

Elliott Engineering, an engineering business dealing with metal fabrication, pleaded guilty to failing to provide and maintain safe plant and systems of work.

The Court was told that the man started driving forklifts less than a month after being hired by the company. Although he had no license, the worker started driving a forklift every second day after a few months.

In the course of the investigations, WorkSafe found that the company did not have systems to ensure forklift drivers held licences, had training, or wore seatbelts.

Worksafe also found that the drivers had not been trained on the Linde forklifts, which had a different pedal set-up to other forklifts used at that workplace.

Elliott Engineering had since made changes to its safety systems. It has implemented a register of employees who hold a forklift license, and has introduced a safety feature in its forklifts which which the machines a forklift until the operator has fastened the seatbelt.

WorkSafe acting Executive Director Stan Krpan said the safety watchdog has been reminding businesses about forklift safety for years.

“If you operate forklifts as part of your business, drivers need to be licensed, formally trained and wearing their seatbelt,” he said.

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