Builder, scaffold business fined more than $60,000
Two Melbourne companies have been convicted and ordered to pay a total of $62,000 in fines in relation to scaffolding at a Bentleigh East development site.
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Company charged over elevated work platform death
WorkSafe has charged an equipment hire company with three breaches of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 following the death of a contractor who was thrown from an elevated work platform (EWP).
Farmer dies after being struck by trailer
A man in his 70s has died after being run over by a trailer at a property near Ouyen.
It is believed the man was standing alongside the moving trailer, feeding hay to sheep when he was knocked to the ground about 9.30pm on Monday.
The trailer was attached to a ute.
WorkSafe is investigating.
The fatality brings the number of confirmed workplace deaths this year to ten, and is the sixth to occur on a farm.
WorkSafe Acting Executive Director Health and Safety Paul Fowler once again urged farmers to put safety first.
"Tragically, many on-farm fatalities involve people doing tasks they have done many times before, but experience doesn't prevent injuries or deaths," he said.
"WorkSafe is urging farmers to think about the tasks they do each day and whether they can be carried out more safely, for their own sake and the sake of their loved ones."
Fine for scalping incident increased to $150,000
A Shepparton fruit packing company has been convicted and fined $150,000 on appeal following an incident which left an employee with horrific scalping injuries.
Housing sites on notice to reduce the risk of falls
WorkSafe inspectors are focusing on fall hazards in an effort to reduce the number of workers injured at housing construction sites.
Since February 1 this year, 40 serious incidents involving falls at construction sites have been reported to WorkSafe.
These include the following incidents, which occurred on building sites in April:
- A man who fell and broke his leg after catching his foot between the rungs of a ladder at Inverloch.
- A man who fractured ribs after falling three metres through a void at Fawkner.
- A man who received concussion after falling 2.4 metres when a truss gave way at a site in Caulfield North.
WorkSafe Acting Head of Hazardous Industries and Industry Practice Dermot Moody said falls were an ongoing issue within the housing construction sector.
“Even a fall from a low height can still lead to serious injury or a death,” Mr Moody said.
"Employers in the housing sector have the same responsibilities as those on any other site to identify risks and ensure correct safety measures are in place.
“Our inspectors will be reminding them of this when they visit housing sites this month.”
Mr Moody said WorkSafe inspectors would not hesitate to take enforcement action where they identified the risk of a fall, or where safe work method statements were not in place for high risk construction tasks.
“Control measures for fall risks are well known and readily available, so there is no excuse not to have them in place.”
Employers can control the risk of falls by:
- Eliminating the risk by doing all or some of the work on the ground or from a solid construction.
The remaining risk can be reduced by:
- Fall prevention devices like scaffolds, perimeter screens, guardrails, elevated work platforms or safety mesh.
- Travel-restraint systems, industrial rope-access systems, catch platforms and fall arrest harness systems.
- Using a ladder or administrative controls.
For more information go to worksafe.vic.gov.au.
Ricegrowers Ltd fined $260,000 following maintenance worker’s death
Agricultural processor Ricegrowers Ltd has been convicted and fined $260,000 following the death of a maintenance worker at a stock feed plant in Tongala.
Ricegrowers pleaded guilty to one count of failing to provide or maintain plant that was, so far as reasonably practical, without risks to health and safety.
The Melbourne County Court heard the 53-year-old man was performing maintenance on the inside of a surge bin at the time of the incident in September, 2014.
He died when the wooden plank he was standing on snapped, causing him to fall onto a sensor-activated screw conveyor at the bottom of the bin.
The court heard there was no emergency stop button within reach of the surge bin’s access plate that would have allowed an observer to stop the screw conveyor in the event it started operating during maintenance.
WorkSafe Acting Executive Director Health and Safety Paul Fowler said employers must ensure protective devices such as override buttons and guards are in place to prevent workers being caught in moving plant during maintenance work.
“It is absolutely unacceptable for workers to be exposed to horrific injuries or death because of improperly maintained or unsafe plant,” he said.
“These types of incidents have tragic consequences for workers, their families and friends, and WorkSafe will not hesitate to prosecute employers who fail to protect people from unsafe plant.”
Safety measures to prevent injuries from operating plant include:
- Ensuring emergency stop buttons are in within reach of observers
- Using isolation procedures such as lockout devices when clearing blockages or servicing and maintaining machinery and equipment
- Ensuring guards are in the correct place during and after any repair or maintenance
- Installing fitted guards, fences, barriers or interlocked gates so moving parts cannot be touched and workers cannot be struck by ejected items
- Ensuring pre-operation checks are carried out on interlocking and emergency systems.
For more information visit www.worksafe.vic.gov.au
49-year-old man faces serious fraud charges
WorkSafe has charged a Roxburgh Park man with dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by allegedly receiving more than $700,000 in unlawful workers compensation payments.
Entries open for the 30th annual WorkSafe Awards
The role that all Victorians can play in making workplaces safer will be highlighted at the 2018 WorkSafe Awards.
Worker dies after being struck by tractor attachment
A man in his 20s has died after being struck by a tractor attachment at a property at Carwarp, near Mildura.
Man dies in farm truck rollover near Warragul
A worker in his early 30s has died after the fertiliser spreader truck he was driving rolled on a steep hill north-east of Warragul yesterday afternoon.
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