Safety News

Steel racking Safety

 941 1000 IRIA
By:
0

The very real risk of fatal workplace accidents is a concern for all managers and employees; therefore, these risks need to be addressed through controls such as safety awareness and training.

It has been identified that most racking failures are a direct result of unqualified people changing racking, bumping into racking with forklifts or not fixing potentially fatal racking hazards.

It is important that all workplaces have regular safety inspections, and all repairs are attended to in order to ensure the safety of workers. By having six to twelve monthly workplace safety inspections such as a racking safety inspection, this is one way to help reduce workplace fatalities.

Utilising state of the art processes and technology IRIA provides regular, unbiased, fully documented racking inspections and audits. IRIA can implement a racking safety inspection regime that will ensure your compliance with the appropriate standards.

 

Steel Storage Racking Inspections

 509 339 IRIA
By:
0

With one of the most functional infrastructure elements in warehouses being Steel Storage Racking, a silently ignored risk could easily become a loud collapse with implications of industry manslaughter.

It is frightening to think that one slight alteration in racking from an unqualified person can have disastrous consequences to the stability of the racking and potentially the lives of people who work in that warehouse.

Independent Racking Inspections and Audits (IRIA) is an independent racking inspection company that conducts independent racking inspections in your workplace, to reduce the risk associated with the safe management of your steel pallet racking. We also offer training so your employees will know what to look for and raise concerns of a potential risks and eliminate them before they become a major incident.

Be A Safety Champion

 800 499 IRIA
By:
0

Safe Work Australia urges everyone to be a safety champion

Safe Work Australia reminds all workers and businesses to commit to building safe and healthy workplaces this National Safe Work Month.

With the theme ‘Be a Safety Champion,’ everyone is encouraged to promote best practice work health and safety initiatives at their workplace.

“During National Safe Work Month, we want to recognise that workers, employees, managers, supervisors, teams and organisations can all be safety champions,” said Safe Work Australia CEO, Michelle Baxter.

“It doesn’t matter what industry you work in, what role you do, whether you act as an individual or work as a team. We can all actively promote work health and safety,” she said.

There are several resources on Safe Work Australia’s website to help promote the campaign. These include customizable posters, a digital brand kit, flyers, web graphics and infographics.

“This October, everyone can be champions for work health and safety – we can all build a more positive work health and safety culture,” said Ms. Baxter.

“Use the hashtag #safetychampion to give a shout out to the champions in your workplace.”

 

Author:   Haydee

Source:   Safety Culture

 

 

Young man’s leg crushed by approx a tonne of falling pallets from a forklift in NSW

 600 374 IRIA
By:
0

A tradesman has been crushed by a stack of pallets weighing about a tonne in a horror worksite accident west of Sydney.

A tradesman was crushed by a falling stack of pallets weighing an estimated one tonne in a horror workplace accident this morning. Several ambulance and police crews rushed to the Bond Crescent building site in Wetherill Park, west of Sydney, just after 10.30am.

The 24-year-old man suffered a serious leg injury and was briefly pinned beneath the debris, before paramedics cleared the pallets, which had fallen from a forklift.

The CareFlight rescue helicopter was called and landed in a vacant field near the site, with a specialist doctor and critical care paramedic providing treatment to the worker.

“Observation was continued by the CareFlight medical team as he was transported by road ambulance to Liverpool Hospital in a stable condition,” a CareFlight spokesperson said.

SafeWork NSW will now investigate the incident.

Author:  Shannon Molloy

Edited:   Kati Carr

Source:  www.news.com.au

Queensland dairy farms audited for safety

 800 499 IRIA
By:
0

Forty-three per cent of Queensland dairies have no written WHS policy in place and fifteen per cent have only a verbal policy, audits by WorkCover have found.

The audits were carried out last year under a new work safety program for the state’s dairy industry.  The program aims to improve the capacity of business owners and managers to manage safety.

The audits also found nearly 38 per cent of workers never or rarely wear a helmet when riding a quad bike.

Most businesses believed they didn’t require a traffic management plan, while others reckoned they should have a plan, but hadn’t actually addressed the issue.

WorkCover Queensland launched the program after injury statistics revealed 117 claims for serious injuries over the last five years and one fatality, with 21 per cent of claims caused by livestock and 10 per cent involving vehicles.

The audits revealed that majority of injuries were related to joints/ligaments/muscles, fractures and lacerations, with almost half of the injuries involving upper limbs, a quarter lower limbs and 14 per cent to the body/trunk.

Anecdotal evidence indicated the industry’s high-risk issues included livestock handling; electrical safety; quad bikes; chemicals; and machinery.

Manual handling risks, zoonotic diseases, and mental health were also prevalent.

WorkCover Queensland audited 47 dairies in the Scenic Rim, Darling Downs, Sunshine Coast, and South Burnett regions.

Nearly two-thirds of businesses indicated they would be interested in attending a face-to-face workshop on work health and safety.

The audits also revealed:

  • 38% of businesses rarely or never completed risk assessments
  • safety induction training was completed often by 38% of businesses and sometimes by 32%, but over a quarter of the businesses rarely or never provided training and induction
  • only 38% of businesses reported having control measures in place for working at heights but more work is needed to boost safety, particularly for climbing silos
  • fewer than a quarter (23%) of the businesses had measures in place to manage the health and safety of visitors
  • for diseases management, a quarter of the group had no measures in place to manage the risk of zoonotic diseases for QFever vaccinations and the same amount said no-one had been vaccinated, while 13% had only some people vaccinated.

WorkCover said the next phase of the program will start in March. WorkCover representatives will be looking at the overall WHS compliance of the businesses, including machinery and guarding, electrical, chemicals, quad bikes, zoonoses, working at heights and safety management systems.

Author:     Stephen

Source:     www.safetyculture.com.au

97 Deaths so far this year

 1024 683 IRIA
By:
0

97 Australian workers killed in 2018

 Latest figures from Safe Work Australia show 97 Australian workers have been killed at work in 2018.

Safe Work Australia said the latest figures are based on initial media reports and are a preliminary estimate of the number of people killed while working.

Transport, postal & warehousing industry has so far recorded 29 fatalities, Agriculture, forestry & fishing 28 fatalities, and Construction 19 fatalities.

The figures show the manufacturing industry has seen 8 fatalities, while the mining industry has so far recorded 5 fatalities.

Electricity, gas, water & waste services and Wholesale trade have 2 fatalities each.

Administrative & support services, Arts & recreation services, Public administration & safety and Rental, hiring & real estate services have each one fatality.

Author:   Stephen

Source:   www.safetyculture.com.au

A little about us

 1024 725 IRIA
By:
0

Overview

Independent Racking Inspections & Audits Pty Ltd (IRIA) completes over 2,000 racking inspections annually in 30 countries worldwide and has developed into one of the leading racking inspection businesses globally.  Our core purpose is to assist in contributing to safer working environments in and around steel storage racking and shelving.

We are audited annually and are an ISO accredited company in:

  • ISO 9001 – Quality Management System
  • ISO 14001 – Environmental Management System
  • ISO 4801 – OH&S Management System

IRIA operate independently of any racking supplier or manufacturer.  We will not recommend unnecessary repairs, our clients find that our independence from any racking sales process keeps their repair costs down.

Our racking inspections comply with AS4084 and International Racking Standards and includes the following:

  • A ground based, visual check of all racking systems on site;
  • Checking the correct application and use of equipment;
  • Checking that the working load limits are adhered to;
  • Where a copy of the load application and configuration drawings are provided a check that the racking installation has not been detrimentally altered
  • Checking the extent of damage due to impact with the racking;
  • Checking out-of-plumb racking;
  • Examine for any dislocation and deformation of sections and connections for uprights and beams;
  • Examine connectors for deformation or signs of cracking of the welds;
  • Examine base plates and floor anchors.
  • Certification that damage listed on our previous racking inspection report has been repaired (included as part of your annual inspection or for a nominal fee can be done at any time)

Safe Work Load Charts

If you require safe work load charts this detail will be listed on your report for all brands of racking. We are able to assist with producing a limited suite of load charts for standard racking on your behalf. We will not know if we are able to produce load charts until after the racking inspection is completed.

Post Repair Certification

Certification of repairs will be included as part of your next inspection without any additional charge, however we can also return to your site at an earlier date to certify the repairs.  This can be undertaken prior to you paying for the repairs, if you prefer, and will ensure that the repair work has been completed to the Australian Standard and is complete.

15 New Inspectors graduated to begin task of keeping Victoria safe

 300 200 IRIA
By:
0

New inspectors to boost workplace safety

Fifteen new inspectors who graduated from a 17-week training program last week will begin the task of keeping Victorians safe and healthy at work this month.

The new inspectors will assist WorkSafe to carry out more than 45,000 workplace inspections each year.

WorkSafe Chief Executive Clare Amies and Member for Geelong Christine Couzens presented the graduates with their instruments of appointment at a ceremony at WorkSafe’s headquarters last week.

The new group includes five women and 10 men with experience in sectors including construction, mining, oil and gas, healthcare, ergonomics, chemical and mechanical engineering.

The new inspectors will be based in Mulgrave, Essendon Fields, Traralgon, Warrnambool, Geelong, and Melbourne.

Minister for Finance Robin Scott said a strong WorkSafe inspectorate played a crucial role in ensuring Victorian workers were able to return home from work safe each day.

“Inspectors are WorkSafe’s frontline, upholding the integrity of Victoria’s occupational health and safety laws,” Minister Scott said.

“They also play a large part in educating employers and duty holders on what they need to do to keep workers safe.

“Both of these roles take passion and commitment, and I congratulate today’s graduates for taking up this important cause.”

WorkSafe Chief Executive Clare Amies said the experiences and skills of the new graduates would benefit all Victorian workers and employers.

“As the nature of work continues to change, so do workplace health and safety needs,” Ms. Amies said.

“The previous experience of our new graduates will ensure that WorkSafe maintains a diverse inspectorate with a deep understanding of industry and the dynamics of the modern workplace.”

Author:    Stephen

Source:   http://content.safetyculture.com.au

Worksafe ACT Issues almost 250 improvement and prohibition notices

 500 294 IRIA
By:
0

WorkSafe ACT has issued almost 250 improvement and prohibition notices, 23 infringement notices totalling over $80,000, enforceable undertakings of more than $700,000 during 3,854 workplace visits across Canberra in the past year.

ACT Work Safety Commissioner Greg Jones said there had also been two successful prosecutions and a number of significant charges laid, including the first manslaughter charge for a workplace fatality in the ACT, which is currently before the courts.

“It has been a busy financial year so far and in terms of activity we are already tracking higher than the previous year in compliance actions,” Mr. Jones said.

“Our skilled inspectors are in workplaces and worksites across the ACT every day to support safety and take action where appropriate. At the end of May, there had been 2248 proactive and 1606 reactive workplace visits to ensure Canberra’s have a safe place of work.

“In addition to this, inspectors have visited 123 workplaces and spoken to 144 apprentices and young workers as part of the Young Workers and Apprentice Audit that commenced in March this year.

“Young workers continue to be a key focus for WorkSafe as there is increased vulnerability with inexperience both in skills and ability as well as in knowing their rights and responsibilities when it comes to work health and safety. We will report the findings of the audit throughout the year as this important work progresses.”

To the end of May this financial year the safety watchdog said it has issued:

  • 77 Prohibition Notices which is up from 58 for the whole of 2016-17
  • 170 Work Health and Safety Improvement Notices up from 140 for the whole of 2016-17
  • 23 Infringement Notices (totalling $82,800) up from 1 Notice in 2016-17
  • 2 Prosecutions (Paul Papas – October 2017 – fines totalling $1,980 plus clean-up costs of $248,000 and Samarkos Earthmoving – November 2017 – $60,000)
  • Two significant enforceable undertaking entered (Glass Tech and Milin Builders) with a collective financial component of over $700,000.

“While the above is a reflection of the strong regulatory activity of WorkSafe what it doesn’t capture is the extensive education and engagement that occurs each and every day with employers, workers, and industry, which prevents many safety issues before they even occur,” Mr. Jones said.

“This pre-emptive intervention works hand-in-hand with enforcement action which WorkSafe ACT doesn’t hesitate to take where there are serious or repeated safety concerns.

“I’d like to send a reminder to employers and workers to continue to put safety at the forefront of activity each and every day so workers go home safely.

“This must come from the top with Directors, managers, and supervisors showing leadership by demonstrating a positive safety culture.  This will go a long way in meeting their legislative responsibilities,” he concluded.

 

Aurthor:  Stephen

Edited:    Katie Carr

Source:  www.safetyculture.com.au

Man crushed to death by falling pallets from a forklift

 800 533 IRIA
By:
0

Company fined over forklift incident

Auckland – A major freight distribution and logistics company in New Zealand was sentenced following an incident in which a worker was crushed to death by falling pallets that were being moved from a train wagon by forklift in September 2016.

The man was standing beside the forklift. The pallets it was carrying fell and struck the worker as the driver was reversing. The victim died at the scene.

An investigation into the incident found that the company did not identify the risk of a pedestrian being hit by freight falling from forklift tines and that its system relied on administrative controls that were ambiguous and contradictory.

“Administrative controls like rules and procedures are simply not enough, pedestrians need to be segregated from forklift activity,” said WorkSafe Deputy General Manager, Investigations and Specialist Services, Simon Humphries.

Mr. Humphries said that more should be done to protect workers and ensure their safety.

“Fixed barriers to separate people from moving plant don’t work in every workplace, but a temporary barrier and warning signage would have kept the victim outside of the dangerous area and alive.”

The company was fined $506,300. Reparations of $118,020.10 were ordered for emotional harm and consequential loss in addition to payments of $105,000 already provided to the family of the victim. The company was also ordered to pay costs of $6030.

Author:     Haydee

Source.   www.safetyculture.com.au