Browsing: Heavy vehicles, mobile plant, forklifts, quad bikes | Page 118

An Industrial Magistrate's June decision to acquit the first person charged as an "officer" under the harmonised WHS laws has been published, and is, according to a leading safety lawyer, the first judgment to examine the meaning of due diligence under the new laws.

• Employer fined $180k after crane crash injures workers;
  
• Scissor lift death costs NZ employer $138k; and
  
• New safety boss announced for WorkSafe Victoria.

The authors of a $1.3 million study on quad bike stability have rejected "active riding" as a reliable rollover-prevention strategy, and found that no tested quads achieved better than three out of five stars under a proposed safety-rating system. Meanwhile, the Queensland Coroner has completed phase two of an inquest into nine quad bike fatalities.

• Harmonisation of explosives laws examined in SWA paper;
  
• Qld releases new safety guides and scaffold warning;
  
• WA releases draft isolation guide and safety alerts; and
  
• NSW tweaks rules on explosion-protected plant.

Two national employers are facing category 2 safety charges, in the second and third criminal proceedings filed under the Commonwealth jurisdiction's mirror WHS Act. Meanwhile, a Western Australian company has been fined for height-safety breaches.

• FWC refuses to make findings on blocked bullying claim;
  
• Coroner warns of "likely" deaths under vehicles; and
  
• SWA reports lower death toll.

• Employers warned of risk "normalisation" after bee attack;
  
• Eleven national employers profit from Comcare licence extensions; and
  
• SA redefines "construction project" in WHS Regulations.

A world-first study on occupational exposure to diesel fumes has found that while biodiesel emissions contain fewer particulates than traditional fuel, they cause the same degree of respiratory inflammation associated with lung cancer.

Safety-minded primary industry businesses are more profitable than their less-conscientious competitors, according to an Australian Government research committee.

Safe Work Australia has published new research reports on WHS "mindfulness", young workers and the transport industry, as well as a guide to handling hazardous isocyanates, and a study that found media outlets - like OHS Alert - are among the most popular sources of safety information for workplaces.