02:57 pm, Wednesday 29 February, 2012

WorkHealth checks will be offered to taxi drivers getting their photo identification pictures taken at Ballarat this week.

WorkSafe Victoria will provide a 15-minute free, confidential WorkHealth check where drivers will learn about the health risks associated with developing type 2 diabetes and heart disease. This will also involve a short survey along with having their blood pressure, cholesterol, blood glucose and waistline measurements being taken by a trained health professional.

Drivers who are at risk for type 2 diabetes or heart disease will get personal support in improving their health through a free and confidential telephone service, called the WorkHealth Coach program.

“Ballarat taxi drivers will be joining the 465,000 Victorian workers who have already taken up the opportunity to participate in these free checks. Many have had a major wake-up call about their health,” said WorkHealth’s Tim McLean.

“For workers in sedentary jobs, who may not get enough physical activity, the checks are a great opportunity to see where your health is at, and get practical advice on leading a healthier lifestyle.”

This activity is a joint initiative between the Victorian Directorate (VTD) and WorkSafe Victoria.

The new photo-ID process is part of the roll-out of in-cab photo identification regional Victoria, which will happen over the coming months.

“Ballarat is next cab off the rank in the roll out of photo identification to non-metropolitan Victoria,” said VTD General Manager, Marnie Williams.

“Photo ID increases passenger feelings of safety and confidence in taxi services by allowing them to see that their driver is properly accredited.

“It’s a big win for the industry and for everyone catching a cab in Ballarat.”

Other taxi locations across Victoria will be given opportunity to receive free WorkHealth checks early in 2012.

For more information about the photo identification rollout in regional Victoria, go to www.taxi.vic.gov.au.

More information on free WorkHealth checks and the WorkHealth Coach program is available on www.workhealth.vic.gov.au.

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12:32 pm, Wednesday 29 February, 2012

 A machine supplier was fined $30,000 after equipment they supplied caused a West Australian woodchipper operator to lose three fingers.

The company was found guilty of failing to ensure the safety of the woodchipping machine and seriously harming a worker. They were fined $30,000 in the Perth Magistrates Court and ordered to pay $12,000 in costs.

The court heard that the company supplied a Peterson Pacific 5000 H mobile chipper to the logging company where the victim was employed. The equipment had no guard on the overspout that held a rotating chipper disk.

The victim was operating the chipper in July 2008 and attempted to clear a blockage from the overspout. He was unaware that the chipper disk at the base of the overspout was still rotating. His hand was struck by a rotating chipper disk, severing his index, middle and ring fingers, and injuring his little finger.

WorkSafe WA Director of Policy and Education, Ian Munns, said the incident should send a message on the importance of guarding machinery as well as the fact that workplace safety is not just the responsibility of employers.

“It is up to the employer to ensure that workers receive instruction and training and observe the safe work practices that are in place, and the employer of the injured man has already been fined over this incident,” said Mr Munns.

“In this case, it would have been better to ensure that the machine was safe to operate in the first place, and that’s where the supplier has to take responsibility.”

“Shortly after this incident, the employer installed a guard on the overspout, unfortunately too late for the worker who sustained serious and permanent injuries to his hand.

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02:34 pm, Monday 27 February, 2012

A WorkHealth check will be given for free to Victorian workers heading to the Port Fairy Folk Festival from Saturday 10 – Monday 12 March. Workers will also get the chance to learn their risk for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

The WorkHealth checks is part of WorkSafe Victoria’s WorkHealth program, and are completely confidential and take just up to 15 minutes.

“What we’re finding is that around a quarter of workers who have done WorkHealth checks actually have a high risk for developing type 2 diabetes which is something many of them wouldn’t have known about before,” said WorkHealth Director, Rachel Gualano.

“So we’re heading to the Port Fairy Folk Festival because we think it’s important that as many workers as possible have the chance to get their health checked.”

The free WorkHealth checks are performed by trained health professionals, and will be available at the Craft Fair, during the Port Fairy Folk Festival.

The checks will include a lifestyle survey, simple measurements such as cholesterol, blood pressure, blood glucose and waistline. Results of these measurements will be given on the spot. Workers at risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases can get help through the new WorkHealth Coach telephone support service.

More than 465,000 workers have availed the WorkHealth check so far across Victoria. More than 23,000 businesses have signed up for the program.

“If you miss out on the Port Fairy Folk Festival, you needn’t miss out on WorkHealth checks. Just sign at workhealth.vic.gov.au and we’ll come to your workplace and give your whole team the chance to get checked,” said Ms Gualano.

For more information, visit workhealth.vic.gov.au.

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11:54 pm, Saturday 25 February, 2012

Bendigo businesses can expect a visit from a safety inspector beginning Monday as part of WorkSafe’s week-long blitz.

Around 200 businesses will be visited by a WorkSafe inspector as part of the Safe Towns campaign which involves a team of inspectors visiting a regional area to check on health and safety compliance and return to work laws.

According to WorkSafe’s operations General Manager, Lisa Sturzenegger, inspectors will check on businesses which have never been visited before as well as those with previous injury claims.

“It’s in everyone’s interest to make changes sooner rather than later. Don’t wait until a WorkSafe inspector arrives, or a serious incident to address health and safety matters,” said Ms Sturzenegger.

WorkSafe data reveals that almost 2370 injuries were reported from the Bendigo region over the past five financial years. Treatment and rehabilitation costs exceeded $41 million. More than half of these claims came from the health care and social assistance, manufacturing and construction industries.

”We constantly come across cases where companies are fined thousands of dollars for not addressing safety matters such as allowing workers to operate faulty machinery, not properly separating forklifts from pedestrians and other  poor management of safety issues.”

“Getting on top of health and safety issues in the workplace is good for business, good for morale and ensures workers return home safely at the end of the day.”

“We also find that 60 per cent of all Victorian workplace injuries are a result of dangerous manual handling practices. Businesses may not even be aware that their existing work methods put a strain on their workers.”

“We encourage businesses to look at their workplaces from a fresh perspective and to find new ways to address basic issues.”

WorkSafe inspectors will also visit South Geelong/Breakwater, Ballarat and Traralgon in the months to come.

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03:03 pm, Friday 24 February, 2012

Universities failed to keep up with the increasing demand for workplace safety professionals, a survey released Tuesday revealed.

According to the survey conducted by SafeSearch, the “pipeline of qualified professionals graduating from universities are diminishing,” as corporate Australia struggles to meet demand for work safety.

The survey showed majority of respondents emphasized the importance of qualifications in this increasingly complex area. SafeSearch Managing Director Julie Honore said this was misaligned with the limited availability of bachelor-level OHS qualifications.

“Queensland and Western Australia are currently the only states that offer a total of four OHS courses for undergraduates in Australia,” said Director Honore.

“Clearly these states have felt the demand from the resources companies for qualified safety professionals, while undergraduates in other states have few options.”

The Registrar for the Australian OHS Education Accreditation board, Pam Pryor said that the lack of undergraduate courses “threatens the supply of technically competent and broadly skilled OHS professionals.” She however noted that “to focus only on the Bachelor degrees downplays the importance of the entry level graduate diploma and masters programs which produce a steady stream of OHS graduates.”

According to Ms Honore, the survey repeatedly highlighted the need for a mixture of tertiary education and formalized mentoring as well as training programs on the job.

“Our respondents recognise that OHS has to be a top priority in their business. They stated that the intellectual rigor and foundation knowledge attained from an undergraduate degree is essential for driving change and continuous improvement in OHS.”

“It seems that our education system as it stands is not keeping up with the demand. If you can’t access this education at the undergraduate level, then you have missed out on a large potential supply of candidates.”

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11:54 am, Friday 24 February, 2012

Photo: Bill Hearne Source:
The Daily Telegraph

A worker at a domestic airport suffered burns to his face when an item he was disposing exploded overnight.

The Daily Telegraph reports that the 20-year old victim was disposing of the can into a bin when it suddenly self-ignited.

NSW Ambulance Inspector Michael Corlis said they will try to establish what exactly happened during the incident.

The victim was given first aid by Airport staff and NSW Ambulance officers.

“We are giving him some pain relief and treating those burns to his face and then we’ll take him to St Vincent’s Hospital,” said Inspector Corlis.

“He’s in a stable condition.”

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08:20 pm, Thursday 23 February, 2012

New food safety legislation passed the Legislative Assembly in the ACT on Tuesday which means that eateries that breach hygiene laws will be published on a government website.

Under the new laws, businesses will have to display their registration certificates, and a closure notice if the government issues them with a prohibition order.

Eateries will also be required to have a trained food safety officer on site to ensure businesses are meeting hygiene regulations.

ACT Health has previously issued dozens of warnings to ACT businesses urging them to clean their unhygienic kitchens and banning businesses from selling meals on seven occasions because of fears customers might be poisoned.

Chief Minister Katy Gallagher said the passage of the food amendment bill was ”a pivotal step forward in improving food safety and regulatory transparency”.

”Unfortunately over the past year gaps in the knowledge of the people who work in the industry have been discovered,” Ms Gallagher said.

”With this bill the Assembly can address some of the issues by improving food safety knowledge through the introduction of food safety supervisors.

”It will also make the enforcement actions taken by the Health Protection Service more transparent to the general public.”

Ms Gallagher said food businesses would be given 18 months to train and implement their food safety supervisors.

She added that a dedicated food safety directorate had been formed at the Health Protection Service to improve the management of food safety in the ACT.

The bill was supported by the other two major parties, being the Canberra Liberals and the Greens.

Greens MLA Amanda Bresnan said the next step to improving food hygiene in the ACT was to implement a system similar to the Scores on Doors scheme in NSW, where businesses display a food safety rating in their windows.

A spokeswoman for Ms Gallagher said the template for the name and shame register was being finalised and the register would be available through the ACT Health Directorate website once the first conviction was recorded under the new act. The new legislation is likely to come into effect next week.

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12:45 pm, Wednesday 22 February, 2012

Photo: 6PR through
The Sydney Morning Herald

A man has died after falling nine metres to the ground at a worksite in South Perth on Tuesday.

According to reports, two men were using a cherry picker to prune a 50-metre tree when the boom snapped, sending them nine metres to the ground. The 47-year old tree lopper landed on a metal carport and died at the scene. The second victim survived the fall.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that the cherry picker had a mechanical fault, sending the basket plunging to the ground.

WorkSafe inspectors are conducting an investigation over the incident and have started interviewing witnesses.

Police will prepare a report for the Coroner.

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11:28 am, Wednesday 22 February, 2012

Carcinogens in the workplace cause about 5,000 cancers every year and there is insufficient action being done to reduce the risks, says medical experts.

In an article on the Medical Journal of Australia published on Monday, Professor Lin Fritschi and co-authors said an estimated 5000 cancers each year are caused by occupational exposures. According to a report by the Herald Sun, the authors said that not enough is being done on Australia’s regulatory approach to reduce occupational carcinogens.

“Work-related cancer attracts considerable public and media attention, but has received limited attention from researchers and policymakers in Australia, particularly in comparison to other cancers, such as those related to tobacco use and sun exposure,” said the authors.

They also write that little is being done to inform people about the health risks.

“Poor awareness of exposure to occupational carcinogens and (a) lack of attribution of cancer to occupational causes…limit opportunities to reduce the likelihood and extent of exposure.

“In addition, potentially legitimate compensation causes are not pursued.”

The authors recommend collecting more data to prevent future workplace cancers. Australian health and occupational authorities are also encouraged to study the people being exposed to carcinogens, the industries where the exposure happen as well as concentration and frequency of exposures.

“In addition, audits and reviews should be instigated to determine what is being done to introduce best practice to Australia,” said the authors.

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12:02 pm, Tuesday 21 February, 2012

WorkCover have released new safety videos on Sunday to raise awareness on its new advisory services and  the new harmonised work health and safety laws.

The new TV commercials for WorkCover NSW “Here to help” campaign will focus on the importance of occupational health and safety. In a report published by the Liberal Party of Australia, Minister for Finance and Services, Greg Pearce, said that while work-related injuries are at their lowest levels in more than two decades, thousands of workers suffer from workplace injuries in NSW.

“During the period 2009-10 there were 41,460 major claims reported in NSW costing the Workers Compensation System $879 million,” said Mr Pearce.

“The ‘Here to Help” awareness campaign is also designed to reinforce the aims of the new Work Health and Safety laws to make workplaces’ safe.

“The campaign to be rolled out in phases throughout the year will present a timely reminder to businesses, workers and their families to learn more about how the new Work Health and Safety laws function, and how they can apply them in the workplace.

“Following the government’s new Work Health and Safety laws the advertisements also remind the wider community about how meeting workplace health and safety obligations can save lives.

“WorkCover has a range of free advisory services and guidance material as well as a dedicated claims assistance service and an award-winning Customer Information Centre.

“I urge everyone to seek advice directly from WorkCover and to take advantage of the range of services on offer.”

To view the videos and to learn more about the “Here to help” campaign, please visit http://smallbusiness.workcover.nsw.gov.au/Tools-and-Guides/video-room/Pages/default.aspx.

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