07:45 am, Thursday 15 July, 2010

WorkSafe WA has launched an inspection program aimed at improving restaurants.

As part of the program, restaurants across the state will be randomly chosen and inspected. Inspections will continue throughout the financial year and will cover both regional and metropolitan areas.

WorkSafe WA Commissioner Nina Lyhne said the campaign will focus on raising awareness of the safety risks and information dissemination for employers.

“This inspection program is part of an ongoing program of proactive inspections aimed at providing employers with information on how to make workplaces safer,” Ms Lyhne said.

“The relevant industry bodies are being contacted in advance and advised of what the inspectors will be looking for.”

The campaign will address WorkSafe’s priority areas more closely, including electricity, machinery guarding and slips, trips and falls.

Inspectors will also focus on particular issues such as the handling of hot liquids, the food slicers and guarding.

“New and young workers and their induction, training and supervision is a major concern to WorkSafe, and our inspectors will also be ensuring that all is in order in that regard during this inspection program,” Ms Lyhne said.

“These proactive inspection programs primarily aim to raise awareness of hazards and provide employers with information, but inspectors will also take enforcement action where necessary.

“We firmly believe that raising awareness with proactive campaigns is the best way in which to lessen the risk of work-related injury and illness.”

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06:24 pm, Saturday 19 June, 2010

The Perth Magistrates Court has fined the owners of a restaurant on Tuesday after failing to respond to an Improvement Notice issued by WorkSafe inspectors.

The two partners of a William Street restaurant pleaded guilty to failing to provide and maintain a safe workplace. They were each fined $3,000.

WorkSafe inspectors visited the restaurant in September 2006. During the inspection, they noticed an unguarded electric planetary dough mixer.

The inspectors issued an Improvement Notice, which required the business to either install a guard on the equipment to prevent its moving parts to come into contact with workers’ body parts or to dispose it altogether.

Inspectors returned to the defendants’ premises in November 2007, and they saw the dough mixer was still being used without any changes made to the machine. One owner had signed the September 2006 compliance slip and said the mixer would no longer be used.

According to WorkSafe WA Commissioner Nina Lyhne, the incident shows failure to comply with notices issued by the safety body has adverse consequences.

“The restaurant owners – being the employers – declared that they had complied with the Improvement Notice and stopped using the unguarded mixer,” she said.

“When inspectors returned the following year, the mixer was on the bench in the kitchen and it was evident that there was no guard on it, so further enforcement action was taken – namely the prosecution of the owners for failing to provide and maintain a safe workplace.

“This case should serve as a reminder to all employers that WorkSafe notices are not issued lightly and that failure to comply with their requirements can and does lead to more serious consequences.”

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08:18 am, Friday 18 June, 2010

The ACT Magistrates Court has fined a restaurant owner for letting food be prepared in a carpark behind his business in Dickson.

In February 2009, a health inspector was in inner-north Canberra when she noticed meat was being defrosted and prepared in a carpark behind the owner’s Chinese restaurant.

The officer then went inside the establishment to find grease, decaying food and rubbish throughout the restaurant. She also noted that the food preparation area was not clean.

The inspector, in a statement of facts tendered to the Court, stated the food outside was attracting wild birds.

Photos were also presented, which showed several barbequed ducks hanging off the back of a door.

A rusty knife and chopping block found in the uncovered carpark were seized.

The owner was convicted for breaching several Food Act provisions, and was fined $1,500 by Special Magistrate Ken Cush.

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07:15 pm, Thursday 17 June, 2010

A butcher from Casino has been seriously injured after getting involved in a workplace incident yesterday.

According to ambulance officers, the 18-year-old worker’s hands became trapped in a piece of equipment just before 8am.

He was initially transported to Lismore for treatment, but was later transferred to a Brisbane hospital.

His condition was listed as stable.

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01:47 pm, Thursday 3 June, 2010

WorkSafe WA has released a safety and health alert following an incident in a café where an aerosol can exploded.

An aerosol can of cooking oil exploded in the kitchen of a busy café. As a result, the café’s front window blew outwards. No patrons were hurt, although two chefs received flash burns to their upper bodies.

It was later revealed the chefs were cooking breakfast in the open plan kitchen. The aerosol can, which was placed next to the lit gas burners, heated up. This caused the contents to expand until the can could not contain the internal pressure.

The can’s base blew out, causing the contents to be released in the kitchen. The propellant inside the can was ignited by the gas burners’ flame, ending in a huge explosion.

The safety alert gives several recommendations on kitchen safety, such as:
• Do not place aerosol cans next to heat sources or in hot areas in kitchens, such as next to lit gas burners, close to electric stoves or on top of rangehood.
• Do not place aerosol cans in direct sunlight.
• Do not use aerosol cans near naked flames or ignition sources.
• Read the safety information on the aerosol can before use and storage.

For more information, please visit WorkSafe’s website www.worksafe.wa.gov.au

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09:25 am, Saturday 1 May, 2010

An operator of a butcher shop has been placed on a $10,000 good behaviour bond for 12 months when an explosion in the workplace caused an apprentice butcher burn injuries.

The defendant pleaded guilty in the Bundaberg Industrial Magistrates Court on 8 April 2010 to failing to ensure workplace safety under section 24 of the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995.

The Court was told that on 17 December 2008, the apprentice was preparing and smoking meat in a smokehouse annexed to the butcher shop. He opened the door of the smokehouse to check the smoking process when it suddenly exploded.

The worker suffered burns to his head, neck and arms due to the blast.

Workplace Health and Safety Queensland’s investigation revealed the defendant did not ensure the apprentice followed a safety procedure on the task of opening the smokehouse door.

Aside from the bond, Industrial Magistrate Jennifer Batts ordered the defendant to pay $750 investigation costs and $65.40 court costs.

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