Safety dot-point Sunday No. 12

Sharing again this week some info that caught my eye (relevant to my work) from the various Work Health and Safety Regulator media outlets within Australia.

Labour Hire Workers hand Amputated

A civil engineering company will spend $560K on to improve health and safety outcomes after a labour hire worker's hand was amputated in a concrete pump mixer. The worker was cleaning residue from the concrete pump mixer during drain rehabilitation works at Moonee Ponds when their hand became entangled in the mixing hopper, resulting in amputation. LINK

The concrete mixer had guarding fitted; however, it had to be removed to clean the hopper area and there were no interlocks installed in case of an unexpected start-up while the guarding was detached.

WorkSafe VIC alleges it was reasonably practicable to -

-- instal an interlocked guard, or

-- use a high-pressure hose to remove residue, or if the guard had to be removed,

-- use a lock-out, tag-out procedure

Plumber puts Apprentice in toolbox and drives for 25min

Plumber fined $20k after driving Ute with teen in toolbox during an estimated 20-25min journey. WorkSafe VIC LINK

This is just plain wrong and, in my opinion, is that there is no context that would make this right.

Young workers can be vulnerable, the best demonstrations of how to work safely are to be shown to them as well as providing a safe place for them to be able to speak up. The fact that this was only reported several months later highlights this issue.

Excavator Operator Fined $20,000 after reversing over another worker causing a serious injury. LINK

Excavator Operator reverses over another worker

The operator for a construction company was found guilty of work health & safety breaches of the Work Health and Safety Act 2012 (TAS) and charged with -

-- a failure to comply with a health and safety duty which exposed an individual to a risk of death or serious injury or illness under section 32 of the Act; and

-- for not ensuring that an item of plant does not collide with pedestrians or other powered mobile plant (regulation 215(4) of the Work Health and Safety Regulations 2022).

‘Establishing an effective exclusion zone around operating plant is a critical safety measure, but it will not prevent serious injuries if the plant operator does not ensure there are no workers or other people near the plant.’ TAS WHS Regulator

Fatal Falls from Heights in NSW

16 lives have been lost in NSW due to falling from heights in the building and construction industry between 2019 and 2023. That’s 16 too many.

Safe Work NSW Resources assisting with -

-- Ladder Safety

-- Falls from flatbed trucks

-- Voids in construction

NOTE: there have been workplace fatalities associated with the above activities

‘Change the work, not the worker'

A powerful line coming from Safe Work Australia

Psychosocial hazards Fact: PCBUs must do as much as they reasonably can to eliminate or minimise psychosocial risks before they cause harm.

Having only Policy and an EAP just won’t cut it. LINK

Dragline Bucket Incident

Whilst moving blasted overburden material, a dragline bucket has contacted a misfire at QLD open cut coal mine resulting in an unplanned initiation (the initial energy required to detonate an explosive used for rock blasting). RHSQ LINK

No injuries were reported, however minor pitting damage occurred to the dragline’s windscreen.

RHSQ Recommendations include -

-- consider fitting equipment with tempered glass windscreens where possible, that is suitable and able to withstand ‘flyrock’ (the rock(s) propelled from the blast area by the force of an explosion).

-- keep accurate blast records

-- conduct effective post-blast inspections as instructed in section 152 of the Queensland Explosives Regulation 2017

-- Consider using more technology like drones and cameras to assist with reviewing blast footage for potential misfires.