In a case that provides clear examples of how company directors can ensure safe work methods are adhered to - and avoid prosecution - the Western Australian Court of Appeal has restored the original fines imposed on two directors and a business after a workplace death.
A new permit-to-work system, which requires plant operators to authorise work undertaken by others in their area, is just one element of a Tasmanian employer's award-winning EHS management system.
Ten Victorian tradies seriously injured daily; SWA and quad bike death tolls climb; South Australian workplace health and safety awards open; Q-COMP awards open as new director appointed; and Did you miss our latest quarterly update?
OHS regulators and police in NSW, Queensland and Victoria are investigating a construction death, two fatalities involving quad bikes, a mining incident that left a man a quadriplegic, and a manufacturing incident that left a woman with serious crush injuries.
Safe work procedures developed for machines must specify what workers should do, as well as what they shouldn't, the South Australian Magistrates Court has noted in fining an employer for OHS breaches.
In the lead up to the busy Easter holiday period, and in light of a recent fatality, Workplace Health and Safety Queensland is urging employers to ensure safe practices are in place at roadwork sites. It also advises employers to reduce the risks of psychological injury through supervisory support and other measures.
A new Safe Work Australia report has found that in the eight years to June 2011, some 356 workers were killed on Australian farms - about 17 per cent of all worker fatalities.
Previous experience with an industry's machinery is no guarantee that a worker will remember or comply with safety requirements before conducting repairs, the Tasmanian Coroner has found, after a worker was fatally crushed by a slasher.
Employers are being urged to develop safe work method statements for tasks that require pedestrians to work near vehicular traffic, after four NSW workers were fatally struck by mobile plant in just over six months.
