SafeWork NSW will soon conduct a blitz on the food industry after a Marrickville baker was critically injured last week.
The 32-year-old man suffered serious burns to his face, neck, and arms following an explosion
at the bakery when he tried to light a portable gas burner.
The blitz will target restaurants, cafes, and bakeries using LPG cylinders.
All portable gas appliancesmust be certified in accordance with Australian Standards and approved by a certifier accredited by NSW Fair Trading.
New safety toolkit for young workers
A new safety and toolkit have been introduced by Workplace Health and Safety Queensland to help employers, youth service providers, parents and education and training providers connect with young workers on work health and safety.
The toolkit includes films, presentation templates, and checklists based on how young people learn and communicate with others.
Workers aged 15 to 24 make up about 18 percent of the state’s workforce. According to recent data, around 4400 young workers suffer serious injuries at work each year.
Supervisors and managers are encouraged to help young workers through induction and training, supervision and feedback, and supportive mentoring.
The Young Worker Safety Toolkit can be downloaded here.
Impact of a hike in alcohol prices on the number of alcohol-positive drivers
The 2011 Maryland (USA) alcohol sales tax increase from 6% to 9% provided an opportunity to evaluate the impact on rates of alcohol-positive drivers involved in injury crashes.
The study showed that there was a significant gradual annual reduction of 6% in the population-based rate of all alcohol-positive drivers ( p <0.03), and a 12% reduction for drivers aged 15–20 years ( p <0.007), and 21–34 years ( p <0.001) following the alcohol sales tax increase.
.
There were no significant changes in rates of alcohol-positive drivers aged 35–54 years (rate ratio, 0.98; 95% CI=0.89, 1.09). Drivers aged ≥55 years had a significant immediate 10% increase in the rate of alcohol-positive drivers (rate ratio, 1.10; 95% CI=1.04, 1.16) and a gradual increase of 4.8% per year after the intervention.
American Journal of Preventative Medicine
When can a union rep enter a work site?
The Full Federal Court of Australia (the Court) has handed down an important decision relating to union right of entry for occupational health and safety (OHS) purposes, in Australian Building and Construction Commissioner v Powell [2017] FCAFC 89 ( ABCC v Powell ) .
On 2 June 2017, the Court unanimously ruled that a CFMEU official who was called onto a construction site to assist a health and safety representative was not protected by Victorian OHS legislation, and was required to have had a right of entry permit under federal law.
On four occasions in 2014, an elected health and safety representative ( HSR) on a Melbourne construction project asked Mr Powell (an official of the CFMEU) to attend the building site to assist him in dealing with various OHS issues.
On each occasion that Mr Powell attended the site and was questioned about his presence, he stated that he was there to assist the HSR and cited his ability to do so under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (Vic) ( OHS Act).
Each time this occurred, Mr Powell refused to leave the site when
requested by the employer to do so. On one occasion, he also stated that he was not attending the
premises under the Fair Work Act
2009 (Cth)
(
FW Act), and therefore did not require a federal
right of entry permit. On two occasions, police were called to the site.
Mr Powell was not a permit holder under Part 3-4 of the FW Act. The Australian Building and Construction Commissioner ( ABC Commissioner) commenced proceedings against Mr Powell for a civil penalty for contraventions of s 494(1) of the FW Act. That section prohibits a union official from exercising a State or Territory OHS right, unless the official is the holder of a right of entry permit issued under Part 3-4.
Guide to Victoria’s new OHS regulations now available
A comprehensive guide to help employers and other duty holders ensure their compliance with Victoria’s new Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017 is now available.
According to WorkSafe’s Executive Director of Health and Safety, Marnie Williams, the new regulations, which took effect on 18 June, will lift safety standards and reduce red tape.
“Although the regulations are mainly the same, they do introduce a number of changes which improve Victoria’s already high workplace safety standards and, where appropriate, reduce red tape for Victorian businesses,” Ms. Williams said.
Other changes affect areas such as construction, mines, and major hazard facilities.
A guide to the new Equipment (Public Safety) Regulations 2017, which also came into effect on 18 June, is available as well.
Both guides and a range of other resources can be found at worksafe.vic.gov.au or by calling the WorkSafe Advisory Service on 1800 136 089.
Fire Drill: A voice on the site PA loudspeaker announced: "This is a test of the speaker system to make sure it will work properly in case of emergency." My confidence in this safety precaution faded when the voice added: "If you are unable to hear this announcement, please contact us."
* "If you mess up, ‘fess up"
