Where workplace safety is made simple.

How Safe Is Your Workplace?

[Source: https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/statistics-and-research/, 2018]

The Workplace Injury and Disease Recording Standard measures lost-time from injury that results in a fatality, permanent disability or time lost from work and is reported as the Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate (LTIFR).

The calculation uses the number of lost-time injuries within a given accounting period, relative to the total number of hours worked in that period:

The number of lost-time injuries per hour worked is always a very small number so the Standard uses a multiplier of one million (the number of lost-time injuries per million hours worked).

This measure should be used by business to assist them gauge their WH&S performance and to compare their current LTIFR with Industry LTIFRs. October 2018 LTIFRs can be seen in the following graph:

Note: Safe Work Australia states that the Industry LTIFR benchmarks are based on lost time injuries from workers’ compensation claims and as such are likely to be an underestimate due to claims not being made for minor injuries.

How does your business compare?

The fact is continued unsafe workplace practices will end up costing your business time and money. The direct cost of a workplace injury, to varying degrees of consequence, include:

• incident costs, including first aid and transport of injured worker;

• investigation costs, including time to cease production and investigate the incident;

• damage costs, including assessment, repair and clean-up time;

• replacement costs, including locating, hiring and training a replacement worker;

• productivity costs, including disruption and claim management time;

• increase in workers' compensation and general insurance (e.g. property/equipment) or any common law costs;

• worksite shutdown costs;

• government fines.

There will also be other less tangible but still very real costs to your business, such as:

• a negative impact on employee morale leading to a potential increase in absenteeism rates, production costs;

• negative customer relations and your business' reputation.

It doesn't pay to stay unsafe.

Start improving your LTIFR and contact WHS Assist today!

Major Changes To The Heavy Vehicle National Law

[Source: https://www.nhvr.gov.au, 2018]

On 1 October 2018, the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) was amended to provide that every party in the heavy vehicle transport supply chain has a duty to ensure the safety of their transport activities.

In practical terms, this primary duty represents an obligation to eliminate or minimise potential harm or loss (risk) by doing all that is reasonably practicable to ensure safety.

As a party in the supply chain, the best way to do this is to have safety management systems and controls in place, such as business practices, training, procedures and review processes that:

• identify, assess, evaluate, and control risk;

• manage compliance with speed, fatigue, mass, dimension, loading and vehicle standards requirements through identified best practice;

• involve regular reporting, including to executive officers;

• document or record actions taken to manage safety.

The new Chain of Responsibility (CoR) laws are significant and now recognise that everyone in the supply chain has a role to play and those that have control or influence over a transport task are responsible for complying with the HVNL.

A person may be a party in the supply chain in more than one way and legal liability can apply to their actions, inactions and demands.

Is your business part of the supply chain? Ensure your safety management system is compliant with the new laws. Contact WHS Assist today!

Cairns Business Causes Worker Serious Injury

[Source: https://www.worksafe.qld.gov.au/news/2018/cairns-business-fined-after-apprentice-suffered-serious-injury, 2018]

A Cairns-based business was fined $125,000 for exposing an individual to a risk of death or serious injury.

On 22 May 2017, at the time of the incident, a fourth year apprentice diesel fitter was working under the supervision of an experienced fitter/mechanic on a backhoe.

The events of the incident resulted in the apprentice’s leg being pinned between the boom and the body of the backhoe.

The apprentice suffered severe leg injuries requiring amputation of the left leg below the knee.

After pleading guilty, the company was sentenced in the Cairns Magistrates Court under Section 32 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 for failing to ensure the health and safety of a worker, exposing an individual to a risk of death or serious injury.

At the sentence hearing, Magistrate Kevin Priestley rejected a defence submission that the injuries wouldn’t have been sustained if the young worker hadn’t been standing where he was.

Magistrate Priestley found the backhoe was in such poor condition it should not have been in service at all, and that was the sole cause of the incident.

His Honour took into account it was the defendant’s first offence. He also noted the defendant had co-operated with the investigation, entered an early guilty plea, expressed remorse, and was generally a good corporate citizen.

The business was fined $125,000 and ordered to pay professional and court costs of almost $1,600. No conviction was recorded.

Is your safety management system working effectively?
Contact WHS Assist today!

Dry Cutting Of Engineered Stone Banned

[Source: http://statements.qld.gov.au/Statement/2018/9/18/safety-alert-issued-for-engineered-stone-benchtop-workers, 2018]

The Queensland Government has today (18/09/2018) issued an urgent safety warning for workers and employers in Queensland’s engineered stone benchtop manufacturing industry–dry cutting of engineered stone is prohibited.

“Any employer engaging in dry cutting of this product must stop immediately and enforcement action will be taken against any employer who fails to adequately to protect its workers.”

The ban has been implemented because of the:

1. high levels of silica in engineered stone which can be breathed in as dust when cut dry; and

2. sudden spike in the number of confirmed cases of silicosis for workers in the industry.

What is engineered stone?

Engineered stone is a composite material made of crushed stone bound together by an adhesive, (most commonly polymer resin, with some newer versions using cement mix). This category includes engineered quartz, polymer concrete and engineered marble stone. [https://en.wikipedia.org]

What is silicosis?

Silicosis is an aggressive form of pneumoconiosis—a debilitating respiratory disease which can be fatal.[https://en.wikipedia.org]

To date, WorkCover Queensland has received 26 workers’ compensation claims for silicosis, including 22 claims lodged within the past three weeks and tragically, at least six of the confirmed cases have Progressive Massive Fibrosis (PMF), which is the end stage of the disease.

State-wide Compliance Campaign On-going

WHSQ recently conducted a compliance campaign involving an audit of 10 engineered stone benchtop manufacturers which uncovered disturbing and unsafe work practices including dry cutting of stone, poor ventilation of work areas and a lack of personal protection equipment.

WHSQ will immediately progress to the next stage of its state-wide compliance campaign, with 22 specially-trained inspectors on the ground auditing all remaining engineered stone benchtop makers across the state. By the end of the 2018 all 160 employers in Queensland will have been audited.

The government has published a comprehensive guide, “Protecting workers from exposure to respirable crystalline silica”, for industry and workers and are also working towards developing the necessary explicit regulations to prohibit dry cutting of stone, along with a Code of Practice for the Queensland industry.

Is your business impacted by this ban? Contact WHS Assist today!

Worker Killed In Fall

[Source: https://www.worksafe.qld.gov.au/injury-prevention-safety/alerts/incident-alerts/2018/worker-killed-in-fall-from-air-conditioning-duct, 2018]

In August 2018, a worker was killed after falling twelve metres onto a concrete floor while undertaking scheduled maintenance of air-conditioning ducts. Investigations are continuing.

Falls are a major cause of death and serious injury in workplaces and there are fall hazards wherever work is carried out at height.

Every year there are more than 3200 accepted workers’ compensation claims for injuries associated with a fall from height. On average, three of these are fatal, while about half are for a serious injury with five or more days off work.

Since 2013:

• Workplace Health and Safety Queensland has issued 1725 prohibition, 1189 improvement and 45 infringement notices for issues involving a fall from height or the risk of a fall from height; and

• There have been 36 prosecutions involving falls, six of these involved workers falling through fragile surfaces or voids.

This incident also highlights that there are risks working on or near fragile surfaces. The surface is likely to be fragile if it is made with:

• any material that can be highly corroded

• asbestos roofing sheets

• polycarbonate or plastic commonly used in skylights

• fibre cement sheets

• metal sheets and fasteners where corroded

• glass, including wired glass

• chipboard or similar material if it has rotted

• wood slabs, slates and tiles.

The PCBU must put processes in place to identify all fragile materials before any work at height commences. Protection must be provided if there is a risk of falling through any area where the work is being done at height – such as vents within air-conditioning ducts.

Control measures to prevent or minimise injury from any working at height where fragile material is, include:

• an elevating work platform so workers can avoid standing on the fragile material

• ensuring the surface is suitable for supporting workers

• providing sufficient lighting to allow workers to identify the condition of the supporting surface and the presence of any penetrations

• protecting penetrations, openings and holes with barriers such as guard rails or covers that are secured and labelled with a warning

• AS/NZS 4389:2015 Roof safety mesh secured under fragile roofing or skylights

• using a harness system with adequate anchorage points, along with appropriate training and supervision

• displaying permanent signs at every likely access point to warn of the presence of fragile materials

Does your safety management system facilitate the risks of working at heights?
Contact WHS Assist today!

QLD WHS Statistics

[Source: https://www.worksafe.qld.gov.au/__data/assets, 2018]

Do you know what’s causing the injuries? which industry is suffering the most? which age group?

Queensland WHS statistics are published by the Queensland Government and are presented below to show the collective state of our work health and safety management systems (based on 2015/2016 data).

(mouseover above image for magnification)

Effective management of health and safety risks at the workplace is a legal requirement and a smart way to do business.

Part 5 of the The Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Regulation 2014 details provisions for rehabilitation including:

• Rehabilitation

• Return To Work Coordinators

• Guidelines for Standard for Rehabilitation

Supporting workers to get back to work as early and safely as possible allows employers to restore their operational requirements and minimise claim costs that impact their workers’ compensation premium.

Are you getting your workers back to work as quickly as possible? Contact WHS Assist today!

What Is A Safety Management System?

[Source: https://www.whsassist.com.au, 2018]

Well it shouldn’t resemble this plate of meatballs and spaghetti, that’s for sure!

We often hear about reasons businesses give for steering away from implementing (or fully implementing) a safety management system:

The problem with this type of thinking is that it is often based on an underlying assumption that to be effective a safety management system must be costly and electronic—this is simply not correct.

Most businesses have elements of a safety management system in place, however what we find is that it is less likely that they a system in place that coordinates ALL the elements to improve their WHS information and outcomes in a timelier manner.

When was the last Notifiable Incident, Incident or Near Miss at your workplace?

A systematic approach to WHS ensures that important health and safety issues are brought to attention so they can be fixed, thereby reducing/eliminating the risk of harm in the workplace.

Does your safety management system effectively and efficiently encompass ALL the elements of compliance?
Contact WHS Assist today!

PCBU Fined $77k For Poisoning Worker With Lead

[Source: https://www.abc.net.au/news, 2018]

The PCBU pleaded guilty to a breach, which spanned almost three years, of failing to keep the worker safe which saw the company fined $75,000 plus professional costs of almost $2,100.

RMIT Environmental Engineering Professor Suzie Reichman said it was not surprising the man had experienced such high levels of lead poisoning.

"There has been studies that show that people who go to firing ranges have elevated blood lead levels," Professor Reichman said.

"So from that point of view it's not surprising, that a staffer who's there a lot more often than someone who just regularly goes for a few hours [has elevated lead levels].

"However, you would expect those who are working in that facility would have quite a bit of personal protective equipment to make sure they weren't overly exposed to the lead in the bullets."

No conviction was recorded, but in determining sentence, Magistrate Jacqui Payne noted no blood monitoring was undertaken at the firm, despite regulations and whilst personal protective equipment (PPE) was available, it was only used sporadically.

Workplaces contaminated with lead dust must ensure proper safety protocols are developed and adhered to, for example:

• Ensure workers use the appropriate PPE;

• Workers should not take their work clothes home and the clothes should be washed on site;

• Workers should also be fastidious with washing hands;

• There should be regular clean-ups to ensure lead dust does not accumulate in the workplace;

• Use wet mops for cleaning rather than vacuum cleaners; and

• There should be exhaust systems to remove dust in the air and these should be cleaned regularly.

Are your workers exposed to dangerous levels of lead or other hazardous substances?
Contact WHS Assist today!

Managing ‘Foreseeable’ Risk

[Source: https://www.whsassist.com.au/, 2018]

A PCBU is required by law to manage work health and safety risks and the WHS laws clearly prescribe that the PCBU has a duty to:

1. Identify reasonably foreseeable hazards that could give rise to risks to health and safety;

2. Implement and effectively maintain control measures to eliminate or minimise risks to health and safety; and

3. Review and, as necessary, revise control measures so as to maintain, so far as is reasonably practicable, a work environment that is without risks to health or safety.

Many businesses that are found negligent in their duty of care failed to foresee the risk to health and safety that a hazard posed despite having safety management systems in place and where, in hindsight, the hazard ought to have been known (foreseen).

The WHS laws are clear, a PCBU must review/revise a control measure where:

1. the control measure does not control the risk anymore;

2. there’s going to be a change at the workplace to a system of work, a process or a procedure or any aspect of the workplace environment;

3. a new relevant hazard or risk is identified;

4. the WHS laws indicate that a review is necessary; and

5. a health and safety representative requests the review.

Most businesses have some sort of system in place to ensure any of the above triggers a review, so where does it go wrong?

We have found complacency plays a large part coupled with a deficient safety management system.

Complacency—in so far as all the boxes are ticked each week, fortnight, quarterly and annually, at induction, at shift start, before use of particular machines, processes or activities and filed away; coupled with

The absence of an integrated safety management system—if you study WHS negligent case outcomes like we do, you will find, for the most part, a correlation exists between the PCBU failing to identify a hazard in a timely manner (foreseeable risk) and safety management not being effectively integrated throughout the business. That is, the right hand didn't know what the left hand was doing or not doing!

"It's not what you knew, or didn't know, it's what you ought to have known."

Managing foreseeable risk is knowing what you ought to know and where and when necessary doing something about it. The unknown has a better chance of becoming known in an environment where WHS is integrated into all aspects of business and where WHS is second nature to workers.

If you don't have 'foreseeable risk' covered contact WHS Assist today!

Why Tackle MSD In The Workplace?

[Source: https://www.worksafe.qld.gov.au/, 2018]

The impact of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), otherwise known as sprain and strain injuries, is far reaching.

62% of all Queensland’s serious injury claims are MSDs.

These costs ($60 million in compensation claims in 2016) are not only passed on to industry through increased premium rates but also through production disturbance costs, lost time, lost skills, retraining staff and the costs associated with investigations and compliance activities. There are also the human costs for workers and the community bearing these serious and sometimes life changing injuries.

MSDs are primarily caused by hazardous manual tasks. Reducing the risk of MSDs in the workplace and workplace environment has many benefits:

• improved efficiency, productivity and profitability;

• reduced workers’ compensation premiums;

• stronger safety and organisation cultures; and

• reduced worker disability, retention of skilled staff and overall improved worker health.

Unfortunately, many businesses fund outmoded programs that teach lifting techniques such as stretching, warm ups and other worker behaviour changes. However, programs that rely on changing worker behaviour in isolation do not meet legislative requirements for controlling risk at the source.

Successful prevention programs integrate management of physical, psychosocial and chronic diseases, MSD risks and broadly use the principles of good work design.

Training should involve a risk management approach, including the characteristics of hazardous manual tasks, the specific manual task risks and the measures in place to control them. It should also cover how to perform tasks safely (using mechanical aids, tools, equipment and safe working procedures), and how to report a problem or maintenance issue.

A business that implements good work design practices is safer, healthier and observes none or at the very least, a reduction in MSDs.

Stop worker sprains and strains. Contact WHS Assist today!

QLD Workers’ Memorial Day

[Source: https://statements.qld.gov.au/Statement/2018/4/28/new-memorials-for-queenslanders-lost-in-workplace-tragedies, 2018]

The Palaszczuk Government is honouring Queensland workers who have died as a result of work-related incidents, disease or illness, with two new memorials:

1. an online honour roll; and

2. a permanent memorial.

The online honour roll has been created and can be viewed at https://www.worksafe.qld.gov.au/queensland-workers-memorial/workers-memorial-honour-roll, while the public memorial at the Roma Street Forum is scheduled for completion in 2019.

Workplace Health and Safety Queensland and the consultative committee are working with the Department of Housing and Public Works and the Brisbane City Council to come up with a design for the permanent memorial at the Roma Street Forum in Brisbane.

Australian—First Mandatory Labour Hire Laws Now In Effect

[Source: https://www.labourhire.qld.gov.au/, 2018]

The Labour Hire Licensing Act 2017 (the Act) commenced on 16 April 2018. The Act establishes a mandatory licensing scheme to protect labour hire workers and support responsible labour hire providers.

How does the new licensing scheme work?

All labour hire providers operating in Queensland will need to apply for a license under the scheme. This includes labour hire providers based interstate or overseas who supply workers in Queensland.

Licence holders are required to meet certain standards, including:

• being a fit and proper person to supply labour;

• being financially viable; and

• complying with relevant laws.

Users of labour hire must only engage licensed providers. There are strong penalties for operating without a licence and for using an unlicensed provider.

How will the licensing scheme be enforced?

The new Labour Hire Licensing Compliance Unit (LHLCU) has been established and is responsible for regulating and ensuring compliance with the licensing scheme. Essentially the LHLCU:

• approves and issues licences;

• maintains an on-line register of licensees;

• monitors compliance, including undertaking audits, receiving complaints; and

• investigates alleged complaints and contraventions.

If you utilise labour hire in anyway contact WHS Assist today to avoid the pitfalls!