Browsing: Work at heights | Page 13

A coronial inquiry has a found worker sustained fatal injuries after he inadvertently touched high-voltage powerlines with a tape measure from within a "no go zone", and examined engineering controls for preventing such incidents.

• PCBU pays the price for disregarding WHS notices; and
  
• New safety duties highlighted ahead of cross-border blitz.

A WHS compliance program has found an alarming 75 per cent of duty holders in one sector did not have any controls in place to minimise the risk of falls, showing, in the words of a judge, that the height safety message is "not getting through to the industrial community".

A PCBU has been prosecuted and fined for failing to ensure forklift loads were properly secured when raised onto high racking, while a company and one of its workers have been fined for breaching safety laws and the "Wiring Rules".

A crane owner, operating as a PCBU, has been found guilty of breaching WHS laws on two counts after he allowed an unqualified worker to drive his crane because he was running late, leading to two workers suffering electric shocks from powerlines.

A company that failed to implement a proper inspection regime for the overhead cranes in a building it leased to a business has been fined for WHS breaches, after debris fell from one of the cranes and struck a worker. Another company has been fined for a string of safety and dangerous goods breaches identified by an investigation into a worker's serious burns.

A manufacturing company that used its own personnel to perform a high-risk maintenance task, without obtaining appropriate safety equipment or expert help, has been convicted and fined $100,000 over the death of a worker in a 6.5-metre fall.

• New "passport" process adds "dignity" to workplace adjustments;
  
• WHS regulator clarifies "direct supervision" duties; and
  
• Duty holders warned against scaffolding modifications.

The prosecution of a man over a subcontractor's death has shown that under modern workplace health and safety laws, individuals cannot escape liability for breaches by folding a company. Meanwhile, a regulator has called for employers to do more to protect workers performing tasks near trucks, following four fatalities in two months.

• WHS intimidation fine and fatality alerts issued in Qld;
  
• New stair-height rule commences under Qld WHS Code;
  
• WHS changes and criminal checks commencing in NSW;
  
• Truck-fire-prevention guide should be used by all fleets: NSW EPA; and
  
• Occupational licensing arrangements tweaked in NT.