Electronic fatigue diaries improve safety, but privacy issues raised; NHVR reviewing disaster-inquiry recommendations; Two work deaths linked to forklift attachments; and Safety rebate program expanded to cover bigger NSW businesses.
Employers in the road transport sector could be required to inspect vehicle brake pads weekly, under one of 25 recommendations made by a coronial investigation into Victoria's Kerang train disaster and other level-crossing fatalities.
Employers can improve safety either by reducing heavy workloads, or ensuring workers with high job demands have the right experience and skills to manage them, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau has suggested in a report on an aviation near-miss.
In this update, OHS Alert recaps all the important OHS and workers' compensation legislative changes made in the third quarter of 2013. We also point subscribers to the most significant court and tribunal rulings and other developments in each jurisdiction.
The road freight transport sector is notorious for its high worker fatality rate, but its average claims costs and time lost to injuries - such as sprains and contusions - are also consistently higher than all other industries, a new Safe Work Australia report shows.
Employers urged to step up safety focus during October; Government told to tackle rising suicide and PTSD rates among soldiers; and Warnings issued after structure collapse and high winds.
