$560,000 safety spend after amputation

■ Background

According to WorkSafe Victoria’s recent news, a labour hire worker’s hand was amputated in a concrete mixer pump during the cleaning of residue. Although the mixer had a fitted guarding, it had been removed as part of the cleaning process, without interlocks being installed (designed for the prevention of unexpected start-up while guarding is detached), causing the worker’s hand to become entangled in the mixing hopper.

■ Foreword

Today, Solve Safety is analysing and reviewing this latest reported WorkSafe Victoria (workplace safety regulator) News and Safety Alerts. Solve Safety is not identifying the nature of the specific problem of any person or organisation in this commentary but only speculating on what could be happening generally in a situation like this, as described by the regulator’s media press release.

■ Introduction

Solve Safety is a Triple ISO Certified Professional Services organisation (Safety, Quality and Environmental) that offers specialised support for your workplace safety compliance by providing occupational health and safety advice for workplace’s operational task and activities management (workplace safety compliance made easy) to create the safest and most efficient environments possible, protecting both lives and livelihoods.  

■ Topic Elements

As a learning from the topic elements, Solve Safety has both analysed the background and the timeline of both how and why an incident like this could take place and what judgements or decision reasoning was reached by the workplace safety regulators’ published conclusions.

■ According to this WorkSafe Victoria News and Safety Alerts, workplace employers (duty Holders) should ensure they have currently risk assessed and reviewed their organisations’ operational activities and tasks (harm minimisation) controls for concrete pump hopper residue removal and cleaning, such as:

• Have undertaken a risk assessment to control hazards and risks.

• The use of plant and equipment policies, procedures and processes to power down and isolate equipment.

• Ensuring that machines are powered down, fully secured and stable before cleaning activities or tasks begin.

• The use of a lock-out, tag-out process and procedure.

• The installation of an interlocked guarding.

• Ensuring machinery guards and safety interlocks installed are regularly inspected and checked.

• The use of a high-pressure hosing for washing out mixing hopper residue material.

• Ensuring workers are properly trained in the procedures and the risks associated with the plant and equipment being cleaned.

• Ensuring workers are properly supervised when cleaning plant and equipment.

Are you controlling the risks of your concrete mixer pump operations?

■ OHS/WHS Subject Matter Experts

Workplaces can be dangerous due to many hazards that have the potential to kill, injure or cause ill health or disease, so discover safer workplaces and stress-free assessments by seeking subject matter expert’s safety advice, prior to any of these serious safety incidents which will impact both a range of internal and external factors. Additionally, it can affect several stakeholders, making it an imperative Duty Holder’s strategy to mitigate the potential likelihood of an occupational health and safety (OHS/WHS) prosecution situation for non-compliant organisational operational activities and tasks.

■ Compulsory OHS/WHS Workplace Safety Compliance

Solve Safety focuses on comprehensive workplace Duty Holder OHS/WHS Prosecution Mitigation by providing guidance on workplace safety compliance measures that reduce both the hazards and risks (harm minimisation). This is achieved by controlling workplace hazards that Duty Holders are required to consider by law when conducting their organisational operational activities and tasks.

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• Do you have your compulsory legal Safe Systems of Work in place?

• Have you met all your mandatory (auto opt-in) workplace safety OHS/WHS regulatory obligations?

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■ Multiple Regulator OHS/WHS Prosecution Routes

There are several different legislated Safety Acts and Regulations that OHS/WHS prosecutions by WorkSafe can institute or conduct legal proceedings against duty holders (person or organisation). This occurs when there are cases of an employee, contractor, customer or visitor who has been either injured or killed whilst in the workplace.  

■ OHS/WHS Health Safety Management Support Services

With our team of leading safety management consultants based in Melbourne but operating throughout Australia Nationally, we are dedicated to helping organisations to become safe and compliant.

No matter the size of your workplace from small, medium or major or services you may offer, such as transportation, logistics, postal, warehousing, agricultural, forestry, fishing, construction building trade, manufacturing, mining and quarries, public administration and safety emergency, administration and support, arts, culture and design, retail and wholesale trades, every other workplace and rental, hiring and real-estate, electricity, gas, water and waste water recycling, office works and professional services, health care and hospital, health and community support, education and training, hospitality, automotive, sports and recreation, aged care or disability services, a risk assessment of the workplace that identifies all the hazards is of paramount importance.

■ OHS/WHS Safety Knowledge, Skills and Experience

Our consultants are Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) certified, qualified and experienced to have expert skills and knowledge over every aspect of Workplace Safety for Duty Holder OHS/WHS Prosecution Mitigation. This gives them the abilities to meticulously review and support your safety planning, so it meets the highest safety standards, minimising risks and enhancing productivity.

■ OHS/WHS Safety Certification and Qualifications

The Australian Qualifications Framework specifies the standards for educational qualifications in Australia. It is administered nationally by the Australian Governments Department of Industry, with oversight from the States and Territories, through the Standing Council of Tertiary Education Skills and Employment. www.aqf.edu.au

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