06:06 pm, Thursday 2 February, 2012

OHS achievers were some of this year’s Australia Day Honours recipients. Honours were given on people from different areas of expertise. Here are some OHS achievers who are also Australia Day Honours recipients:

Dr Robert Lindsay Every – received an Order of Australia for distinguished service to business and to the community. He was the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of OneSteel Ltd from 2000 to 2005. He established a business management approach that focused on workplace safety.

Malcolm Latimer Hancock – received the Ambulance Service Medal (ASM). As a member of the South Australian Ambulance Service (SAAS), he has encouraged volunteer safety leadership.

Dr Geoffrey Goodwin – received an Order of Australia for service to engineering. Dr Goodwin was a specialist in propulsion and safety systems with the Defence Science and Technology Organisation. He assisted the HMAS Westralia Board of Inquiry into the fatal fire on board HMAS Westralia in 1998.

The Australia Day 2012 Honours 2012 List provides national and formal recognition for approximately 690 Australians across the nation who have made a significant impact to their communities. More information on the list of awardees and accompanying media notes can be found on the Governor-General’s website.

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01:23 pm, Thursday 2 February, 2012

Safe Work Australia has released figures which reveal monthly notified workplace fatalities have decreased.

Six work-related notified fatalities were reported in September 2011, while 16 were reported in August 2011 and 11 in September 2010, according to the Safe Work Australia data.

An air crash caused three of the September 2011 fatalities, while an explosion caused two of these fatalities and a crushing incident caused one.

Government administration and defence recorded half of the September 2011 fatalities; Transport and storage recorded two; and Agriculture, fishing and forestry recorded one.

The Commonwealth reported four of the fatalities, while New South Wales and
Queensland reported one each.

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05:48 pm, Wednesday 1 February, 2012

ComCare has recently introduced initiatives to strengthen their services in improving health outcomes. These initiatives are consistent with the ComCare Strategic Plan 2010-2015.

An updated ComCare Pharmacy Policy with emphasis on safely prescribing medicines – especially those that can be misused such as benzodiazepines and opiates. Injured workers’ entitlements to access the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) were also clarified in the policy.

According to a media release from ComCare, Schedule 8 medications will have to be prescribed through the PBS to assist in ensuring that their use is controlled and that the risk for harm, dependence and misuse is reduced. ComCare requests that these medications are prescribed by only one medical clinic and dispensed only by one pharmacy.

The ComCare Pharmacy Policy outlines several changes effective today, 1 February 2012. Treatment providers and medical practitioners will get a letter and a copy of the policy from ComCare’s Clinical Panel.

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10:20 pm, Tuesday 31 January, 2012

WorkSafe is investigating an incident that occurred last night at a winery near Mildura.

About 250 000 litres of wine poured out of a wine tank when a door failed.

A spokeswoman from the winery said no workers were at risk of injury as the incident occurred late at night.

The wine was captured using the effluent system on the premises.

“There won’t be any impact at all really in terms of our production at that site, it is one of our largest sites so we do have a lot of wine produced there, so this loss won’t be a major impact,” the spoeswoman said.

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10:00 pm, Tuesday 31 January, 2012

A 38-year-old man is in a stable condition after crashing his quad bike in a rural area at Mooroopna, near Shepparton, yesterday afternoon.

The man was treated at the scene for a head injury and was flown to the Royal Melbourne Hospital.

Michael Birt from WorkSafe says it is the fourth quad bike accident is as many days.

“We have had a number of serious quad bike accidents in Victoria over the last couple of days and it really is a reminder, whether you are using them for your work on a farm or in other places or just going for a ride around your own property in a recreation sense, you need to treat them with great respect,” he said.

“What we want people to do is minimise the likelihood of injury by wearing helmets and look at other safety devices that can be effective in the event of a rollover.”

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04:00 pm, Tuesday 31 January, 2012

There have been several changes to Australia’s health and safety laws as a result of harmonisation. Workplaces are suffering from some confusion about what has changed and when these changes will take effect for their own States and Territories.

Currently, Queensland, Northern Territory, ACT and New South Wales have all adopted the new legislation, albeit with some changes and transitional considerations that differ between the States/Territory. Victoria, Western Australia, Tasmania and South Australia have agreed to the principals of harmonisation, but due to various reasons have delayed the implementation of the laws for at least 12 months. For these States, their existing Occupational Health and Safety laws will be administered.

An important change for many Australian workplaces concerns licensing for the operation of Earthmoving Machinery.

All States/Territories have already implemented the nationally recognized “License to Perform High Risk Work” certification. Under the National scheme, the License to Perform High Risk Work includes the following:

• Forklift operation
• Crane and hoist operation
• Scaffolding work
• Rigging and dogging
• Pressure equipment operation

Prior to the harmonized laws, only two States (Queensland and South Australia) required specific licenses for operation of certain Earthmoving machinery and particular cranes. Queensland, having now adopted the new laws, has discontinued the licensing requirement in line with the Work Health and Safety (2011) Model Regulations and Nationally recognized License to Perform High Risk Work. Licenses that have already been issued will remain “issued” indefinitely with no expiry or renewal date.

Since South Australia has not yet adopted the new laws, the licensing requirements for operation of certain earthmoving machinery remain in force as part of their existing OHS legislation. Currently, in South Australia only, a license is required to operate the following:

• Backhoe
• Front end loader
• Excavator
• Skid steer loader
• Road roller
• Grader
• Scraper
• Dozer
• Bridge and gantry remote control crane

During this transitional time, workplaces should contact their State Authority to obtain the latest updates and information.

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05:18 pm, Monday 30 January, 2012

The QLD safety watchdog, Workplace Health and Safety Queensland, has announced it will be targeting compliance of swing stage scaffold erection.

The state-wide enforcement campaign commences next month.

Inspectors will be looking for evidence that erectors and users meet the revised training requirements and that standards described in the amended Scaffolding Code of Practice 2009 are met or exceeded.

The changes, detailed in the 2009 Code require:

• engineer certification for critical components;
• any person who is erecting or installing suspended scaffold to have completed the Safe Erection/Installation of Swing Stage Scaffolds (30825QLD) course;
• any person who is a user of swing stage scaffold to have successfully completed the Safe Use of Swing Stage Scaffold (30826QLD) course.

The changes to the code of practice also include advice for all relevant obligation holders, checklists to assess compliance and verification forms to assist obligations in ensuring safety.

Construction Skills Queensland is offering reimbursement to construction workers for the cost of the training as part of the funding and support they offer to industry.

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02:31 pm, Monday 30 January, 2012

While the number of big trucks on the road has increased, even doubling the rate of cars, a study conducted late last year by the National Transport Insurance (NTI) shows that there is a 27% decrease in serious truck crash incidents reported.

Figures from the Bureau of Statistics show that there were 85,965 articulated trucks on the country’s roads in 2011, compared with 71,680 five years ago. The increase rate at 20.7% is almost double that of passenger vehicles at 11.9% over the same period.

The 2011 Major Accident Investigation Report studied more than 300 crashes, where it was confirmed that since 200, there was a 27% decrease in serious accidents involving heavy vehicles. It was also revealed that in fatal crash incidents involving another vehicle, the third party driver was at fault in 82% of incidents.

The report also showed that fatigue and inappropriate speed is responsible for 1 in 2 serious truck crashes. Interestingly, the study also found that accidents happen most likely on Mondays. Mondays and Tuesdays account for 37.5% of serious crashes. June and April were the worst months for major accidents, while the worst time of the day was 11am to 2pm. The study also found out that in 86% of serious truck crashes, the vehicle was within 500 km of its point of departure. Fifty percent of incidents occurred within 100 kilometres.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, two crashes this month have brought attention to the trucking industry.  A B-double was involved in an accident with a ute. It crashed into a house, killing an 11-year old child.

Another B-Double crossed the wrong side of the Hume Highway and flattened a car travelling the opposite direction on Tuesday. A man and his two elderly parents were killed in the incident.

Causes of both incidents are still under investigation by police and coroner.

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02:11 pm, Friday 27 January, 2012

A free workshop which aims to give employers the tools they need to help injured workers back to work sooner will be conducted on February 16 in Melbourne’s west.

Occupational Physiotherapist Nick Economos and psychologists Jacqui Stanford and Dr Peter Cotton will serve as speakers for this event. Each will share their industry experience and insight on improving return to work outcomes.

They will also help employers on how to support injured people who are at the highest risk of not returning to work, particularly those with a musculoskeletal and/or psychological injury.

Dr Cotton will assist employers in learning the skills to build resilience in injured workers to help guard against the onset of secondary psychological problems that commonly arise from prolonged work absences.

This workshop will be held from 9am to 11.30am at Sanctuary Lakes Resort in Sanctuary Lakes (Point Cook). To register for this event, please visit the ‘Workshops and events’ section at www.worksafe.vic.gov.au/returntowork.

Latest figures reveal that employers who attend WorkSafe’s return to work events achieve return to work rates up to 3.4% better than employers who do not.

An estimated 29,000 Victorians suffer work-related injuries every year. Around 3,000 of these workers will be out of the workforce for more than six months.

According to WorkSafe, almost 18,000 injuries from businesses in Melbourne’s west have been reported over the past five financial years. Treatment, rehabilitation, as well as compensation costs exceed $366-million.

WorkSafe’s Return to Work Division Director, Dorothy Frost said that upholding the morale of injured workers was a key factor in achieving better return to work outcomes.

“No one wants to be hurt, and returning to work is an important part of the recovery process.

“The work needs to be safe for the injured person, but it does not always have to be their pre-injury job or even the old hours. Looking for opportunities is the key.”

For more information, please contact WorkSafe’s Return to Work Project Manager, Danielle Jacobs on 9940 4283 or email rtw_network@worksafe.vic.gov.au. You can also visit www.worksafe.vic.gov.au.

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01:49 pm, Thursday 26 January, 2012

A Reservoir business has been fined more than $37,000 after a worker’s hand was crushed in a defective machine.

The company pleaded guilty at the Heidelberg Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday to two offences under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004. They admitted to have failed in providing a safe working environment for its workers as well as provide the information, instruction and training needed to safely do their job.

The charges are in relation to an incident which happened in September 2009, when a worker at its factory had three of his fingers crushed and partially amputated by a mechanical press.

The court heard that the mechanical press exerted one tonne of force and was being used to manufacture DVD presentation boxes.

The company’s own mechanical engineer warned the company a day before the incident that the machine was unsafe to use after one of its buttons was found to be cracked and that it could be operated by a single button. The machine was supposed to activate only when two buttons are pushed at the same time. This was a safety feature which was designed to ensure that the operator’s hands were well away from the area where they might get crushed.

The company ordered a replacement button on the day it found out the problem, but allowed its workers to continue using the unsafe machine.

An investigation conducted by WorkSafe revealed that it was common practice at the factory for two people to operate the machine at once, risking their safety. The machine could only be operated safely by one person, but workers were not informed about this.

Magistrate Smith fined the company $37,500 without conviction. They were also ordered to pay $6,351 in legal costs.

Magistrate Smith said that had the company not pleaded guilty; they would have been convicted and fined $50,000.

WorkSafe Operations General Manager, Liza Sturzenegger, said that businesses need to set an example at the workplace.

“If workers aren’t properly trained on what’s safe and what’s not, they will keep working the way they do because they have not been told it’s acceptable,” said Ms Sturzenegger.

“Just because it’s the way the workplace has always done something doesn’t mean it’s the safe way, and businesses need to ensure work is carried out as safely as possible and that staff are fully trained.

“Unguarded or faulty equipment should be taken out of service, until it is fixed or made safe. As this incident shows us, the consequences of not doing this are considerable and long lasting.”

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