Browsing: Workplace safety | Page 543

A successful return-to-work (RTW) trial hinged on the development of the "EAST" framework, a workers' comp expert says.

Employers are being urged to apply higher-order hazard controls wherever practicable, after a new Safe Work Australia report found that more than three in five workers are regularly exposed to multiple hazards associated with occupational diseases.

A major UK study has identified a link between "fit notes" - which are being introduced in some areas of Australia - and a "downward trend" in long-term sick leave taken by workers.

• Five ways to help employees through a critical incident;
  
• SWA and Queensland release fatality reports; and
  
• Tasmania commits $435k to tackling farm deaths.

• Another drum explosion, another safety conviction;
  
• WorkSafe releases gas-cylinder guidance and alerts; and
  
• NSW releases draft WHS Code on electrical risks in mines.

The Federal Government has introduced an SRC Amendment Bill to enable Comcare to collect "exit contributions" from authorities that leave the scheme, after the ACT revealed plans to develop a workers' comp system that covers its public sector employees.

A special Safe Work Australia report has found that while almost all construction employers take steps to identify and remove hazards, nearly one in three workers feel their conditions prevent them from working safely, and many believe that substance abuse is one of the "main possible causes" of injury.

An employer has reduced the number of its open workers' comp claims from more than 300 in NSW alone to 80 nationally in five years, after introducing an injury management system with "injury monitoring" and post-surgery return-to-work plans.

The NSW Court of Appeal has quashed a $926,000 damages award, in finding that a truck crash was caused by excessive speed, and that an employer that was sued over the incident had been entitled to rely on an expert contractor to safely load the vehicle.

Employers can significantly reduce the risk of injury and legal exposure by providing flexibility and resistance training to workers who perform manual tasks, according to a workplace safety lawyer, who is also a certified personal trainer.