03:28 pm, Monday 24 May, 2010

A recycling company has been fined $50,000 last week over an industrial accident involving a 15-year-old employee.

The Midland Magistrates Court found the company guilty to failing to provide a safe workplace and causing serious harm to a worker.

The incident took place at the Midland company’s worksite in September 2006, where the young worker was using a baling machine.

The machine works by placing plastic product through the input door into a large metal box. The machine’s hydraulic ram then compresses and bales the product, where it comes out through the output door.

The hydraulic ram will not run unless the input door is closed. However, the ram will still eject bales when the output door is open.

Another door at the side of the equipment can be opened, allowing workers to strap bales. The ram can operate while the side door is open, and it cannot be fully closed until the bale is ejected through the output door.

The company’s workers had been trained to close the side door as far as possible after strapping the bale. Once the bale was ejected, the workers were instructed to close the door fully before retracting the ram.

On the day of the accident, another worker was at the output door extracting a completed bale.

The worker who was injured was situated by the open side door while the ram was retracted.

As the ram retracted past the side door, the young man’s right foot was crushed between the ram and the edge of the metal box’s.

As a result, the worker had to undergo surgery to have his two middle toes amputated.

According to WorkSafe WA Commissioner Nina Lyhne, the case shows the dangers of having inadequately guarded machinery and not implementing safe work practices.

“Anyone in control of a workplace containing machinery with hazardous moving parts needs to ensure that those moving parts are safely guarded,” Ms Lyhne said.

“Guarding of the moving parts of machinery is still one of the easiest and most obvious means of minimising the risk of injury to machinery operators, and I strongly urge employers in workplaces with machinery to ensure that it is safe to operate.

“It is also up to the employer to ensure that workers observe the safe work practices that are in place. However in this case, it would have been better to ensure that the machine was safe to operate in the first place.

“After this incident, the machine was fitted with an interlock switch – similar to those on the input and output doors – to prevent the ram from retracting when the side door was open but still allowing it to move forward to eject a bale.

“This modification only cost around $1700, and could have prevented the worker from losing two toes if it had been done earlier.”

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01:55 pm, Monday 24 May, 2010

The injuries sustained by a worker two years ago has led to fines for a timber company and its director amounting close to $550,000.

The accident occurred at Traralgon in August 2008, when the employee’s left arm was severed after it got caught in one of the company’s equipment.

The company was fined $460,000 by the Latrobe Valley Magistrates Court, while the director was fined $80,000.

The money is intended to be distributed to the helimed rescue ambulance service, the Royal Children’s Hospital and other charities.

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01:57 pm, Friday 21 May, 2010

WorkSafe is advising workers in regional and rural areas to arm themselves with more information on safety standards in the workplace.

According to the safety watchdog, work injuries are more likely to be serious and deaths are more prone to happen in rural zones than in urban ones.

It also said businesses in rural areas experience higher costs when it comes to work-related injuries.

As an example, WorkSafe’s Michael Birt draws attention to the figures of the City of Greater Bendigo compared with six rural ones.

“The fact that the Loddon Shire and the ones around it have fewer injuries than the City of Greater Bendigo is no surprise but the fact that the cost of treating those people is $10 million more than Bendigo says that people in the rural areas of country Victoria need to be doing a lot more to improve their safety,” he said.

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01:17 pm, Friday 21 May, 2010

WorkSafe is reminding business operators that they only have a few days to secure the proper asbestos removal licence.

The licensing change means that starting June 1, businesses removing more than ten square metres of bonded asbestos – including asbestos cement material – in a workplace will need to have completed an approved training course and hold an asbestos licence.

According to WorkSafe WA Commissioner Nina Lyhne, the new requirements of the State’s occupational safety and health laws are meant to ensure that licensees have the appropriate skills and know-how to undertake asbestos removal.

“There is still a large amount of asbestos in WA and we need to make sure that its removal is carried out only by workers who have the proper skills and knowledge to perform the task safely,” Ms Lyhne said.

“A National Code of Practice for the Safe Removal of Asbestos has been in existence for many years, so there has always been a requirement for working safely with asbestos. These changes aim to improve compliance with the Code.

“Asbestos cement products do not pose a risk to health if they are left undisturbed in buildings. However, there is a serious risk of exposure to asbestos fibres during the disturbance or removal of asbestos-containing materials unless basic safety precautions are followed.

“Concerns have long existed about the potential for serious health effects from exposure to asbestos where these safety precautions are not followed.

“These concerns resulted in the Commission for Occupational Safety and Health recommending stronger controls on the removal of asbestos cement sheeting.

“A large amount of consultation has taken place, with input from industry representatives, unions, organisations and members of the community all being taken into consideration when deciding to implement the changes.

“Unfortunately Western Australians have the sad legacy of Wittenoom to remind them of the potential hazards of asbestos, and these changes are part of the State Government’s commitment to the future safety and health of all Western Australians.

“The obvious advantage of licensing for the removal of asbestos is that it will ensure that only workers who possess the required knowledge, skills and safe systems of work to do the job safely will be able to perform the work.”

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12:51 pm, Friday 21 May, 2010

Williamstown has recently received a visit from WorkSafe inspectors as part of Safe Towns, Safer Work Zones campaign.

Inspectors visited 167 small businesses in the area over a span of five days. With a total of 200 notices issued, some workplaces received multiple notices while others did not receive any.

WorkSafe will do follow up visits over the next six weeks to see if the businesses have made improvements in workplace health and safety.

Inspectors issued eight improvement notices on inadequate guarding of lathes, which can be dangerous for workers if their clothes get snagged into the equipment.

Other safety breaches discovered by inspectors include unsafe manual handling practices; forklift safety failings, incorrectly tagged or positioned electrical leads; unsafe racking; inadequately maintained air receivers; improper use, handling and storage of dangerous goods; and lack of suitable first aid facilities.

4859 claims for workplace injury or illness have been reported in the Hobson’s Bay area over the past five years. Acting Executive Director for Health and Safety Stan Krpan said this represents $82.52 million in treatment and rehabilitation costs.

“What these visits tell us is that Williamstown businesses need to go back to basics with health and safety, and take a closer look at their workplaces,” Mr Krpan said.

“These visits have brought to light a number of health and safety hazards which could cause serious injury to workers, but are easily remedied – such as repositioning electrical leads, fitting seatbelts on forklifts, and changing workplace layout to reduce the risk of manual handling injuries.

“Workers need to remember that if they speak up when they see safety issues, it will help make their workplace safer. It might even prevent someone from being needlessly injured.

“Our inspectors will be returning to these small businesses over the next few months, and we’ll be expecting to see some changes.”

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02:18 pm, Thursday 20 May, 2010

Slips, trips and falls in the residential construction industry have led to mounting medical costs for the community each year, WorkSafe Victoria says.

People who worked as roof tilers had accumulated $1.3 million in treatment costs due to slips, trips or falls in the last financial year. The payout is $1.1 million for bricklayers who suffered similar injuries, while it is more than $2 million for carpenters.

In an effort to improve residential construction site safety, WorkSafe has launched a new campaign to reduce the incidents of injuries in the industry.

“Slips, trips and falls at work are one of the leading causes of sprains and strains, also known as musculoskeletal injuries,” Acting Executive Director for Health and Safety Stan Krpan said.

“These injuries can have a long-term effect – which not only means paying for more time off work or treatment for workers; it also puts pressure on businesses through added business costs.

“Domestic construction companies have to think much more carefully about safety versus productivity.

“Losing a worker through a slip or fall will not only mean lost productivity for your business, you’ll also have to cover lost labour and maybe even train new workers.

“We’re urging construction workers and their employers to stop, step back, and think about safety when planning, working on and completing every job.

“This is about planning your projects and site layout, setting up your site, and ensuring your site is safe for each trade coming through.

“Improvising on the job, or taking short-cuts to get the work done, is only going to compromise your own health and safety,” he said.

The campaign gets the support of television host Scott Cam. Scott, who is a co-host of Domestic Blitz, started working as a carpenter and remains passionate about the industry.

“As a business owner and a tradie, I know how important it is that we all work together to keep each other safe,” Scott said.

“Simple things like keeping a clean site and not improvising with tools and equipment can have a big impact on safety.

“While I have seen safety standards improve since I started my apprenticeship, there are still too many tradies being injured at work. If I can play even a small role in lowering the number of injuries, I’ll be happy.”

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08:23 pm, Wednesday 19 May, 2010

A 15-year-old boy has died following a lathe accident where his arm was severed.

A coroner’s inquest has been ordered into the tragic incident at a metal parts factory in Birch Street, Condell Park on May 4.

A spokeswoman for the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union said the boy, who was under a pre-apprenticeship employment, was in a situation where he could be retained as an apprentice if the company determines he is fit for the work.

She said the incident raises several questions, including why the boy was permitted to work with a dangerous plant despite having little experience.

“It is a terrible tragedy,” she said.

“It’s such an unusual circumstance for a kid to lose his life in an industrial accident.

“We don’t know whether there were other witnesses. It was a very small business and the owner was at another site.

“Even in the worst, most unsafe workplace, it is unusual for a boy that age to be operating a lathe.”

According to WorkCover spokesman John Kirby, the boy was apparently operating the lathe and left it running without him realising.

“He went to lean on it and the lathe amputated his right arm below the elbow,” he said.

The business owner’s wife found the boy and immediately called an ambulance. He was transported to Westmead Hospital, where he succumbed to death.

WorkCover investigators have already visited the plant, while the police is conducting its own investigation.

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07:12 pm, Wednesday 19 May, 2010

A long-established asbestos factory in Tasmania’s rural north is turning a new leaf as a way of atoning for its past.

The cement company, based near Railton, manufactured asbestos products from 1947 to 1986. It was one of only three companies in Australia to rely heavily on producing asbestos for its business.

The company’s new owner is spearheading a project to remove asbestos from its plants. The project includes health checks to workers and conducting investigations of the harm done from years of producing asbestos products.

The company’s general manager of health and safety said the company aims to be the country’s leader in the cement industry.

“That doesn’t just mean about being the most profitable business,” he said.

“We believe that our guiding principles around how we deal with safety issues and how we treat our people are tested most times like these and with projects like these.”

To show it is serious about its project, it is opening its old books to a historian for documentation. It is the only asbestos manufacturer to open its books to public scrutiny.

Three thousand workers were exposed to asbestos at Railton. According to the company, it has settled forty compensation claims with those who suffered from an asbestos-related disease.

Half of the claimants are former employees, while the other half is composed of the workers’ kin and other people who worked with its products.

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06:28 pm, Wednesday 19 May, 2010

The Industrial Court has been told the failure of a company to follow safety standards has been the cause of a worker’s death at the Olympic Dam.

The company entered a guilty plea for failing to maintain a safe workplace. The company’s lawyer read a statement in court apologising for the incident.

The fatal accident took place at the acid plant of the South Australia mine in December 2007.

The 35-year-old worker was doing repair work when a fibreglass nozzle weighing about 75 kilograms fell on top of him.

The company’s safety policy prohibits the lifting of the nozzles while workers were in the premises doing maintenance work.

It was not followed on the day of the incident, as the work schedule was altered to accommodate a crane crew that was running late.

The man died when a nozzle broke and fell on top of him while crane operations were ongoing.

The court is expected to hand down the decision on a penalty next month.

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07:57 am, Tuesday 18 May, 2010

A Brisbane company and its officers have been charged over the death of an insulation installer and the injury of another last year.

A 25-year-old man was electrocuted while installing reflective foil in the roof of a home at Meadowbrook in October 2009. His workmate, an 18-year-old female, sustained severe burns.

The Queensland Government has laid charges against the company, its director, and its manager under the Electrical Safety Act.

Queensland’s Department of Justice alleges the enterprise was remiss in undertaking its business in a manner that is electrically safe.

The department also alleges the director and the manager were not able to guarantee compliance of the Act.

The Beenleigh Industrial Magistrates Court is expected to act on the complaints next month.

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