Browsing: Injury prevention | Page 160

Over-exertion is the major cause of musculoskeletal disorders in a high-risk industry, and employers should modify tools, adjust tasks and improve working environments to reduce the risks, researchers say.

Instilling the importance of risk assessment in workers, and negotiating safety arrangements with customers, have helped a major employer reduce injuries and lower its premiums by $260,000, according to its sustainability and risk manager.

A safety regulator has vowed to take enforcement action if any WHS breaches are identified in its investigation into NSW's first case of black lung disease in four decades.

Regulatory mechanisms must target "top layer" chain-of-responsibility parties to reduce the transport industry's high fatality rate, as well as the much-less talked about but alarmingly high disabling-injury rate in the sector, a Macquarie University report has found.

The first step to tackling the six principal causes of workplace stress is establishing a working group of OHS specialists, managers and worker representatives to oversee a special risk assessment process, a new UK guide says.

• Move your monitor to reduce strain injuries;
  
• New safety rules for quads and other vehicles commence in Qld;
  
• Alerts issued after trainee crash and gas incidents; and
  
• Did you miss our latest quarterly update?

Switching to standing desks reduces musculoskeletal stress, but workers must increase their standing time gradually to avoid the risk of injury, an occupational physiotherapist warns.

State and territory WHS regulators will be required to penalise and issue removal orders to all supply chain parties involved in the illegal importation of asbestos, under strict liability laws recommended to a national inquiry.

Fines for failing to safely handle or dispose of asbestos have increased 10-fold in Western Australia, in an effort to curb mesothelioma rates.

• Workers warned against Friday "sickie"; and
  
• Anti-bullying advice, safety alerts and guides issued in four states.