Sydney car auction company fined more than $250,000 after death of forklift operator

A Sydney car auction company has been fined more than a quarter of a million dollars after a forklift operator was killed while unloading a truck at Milperra, NSW in 2013.
A 36 year old forklift operator and a 19 year old labourer were moving a cabinet from a truck onto a forklift at the company’s motor vehicle storage and auction site, when they both lost control of the load. The incident resulted in the death of the forklift operator and the labourer was left with fractured ribs and an injured knee.
SafeWork NSW charged the company with a breach of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 for failing to ensure the health and safety of workers.
The company were found guilty by the District Court in June this year and fined $255,000.
Executive Director of SafeWork NSW, Peter Dunphy said the incident highlighted the risks of working with forklifts and need to provide effective supervision and support to young workers.
“Forklifts continue to be a major factor in workplace deaths and injuries,” Mr Dunphy said.
“Between July 2012 and July 2014, 1,360 workers were injured in forklift incidents, including five fatalities.
“The social and economic impact is also significant, including a cost of $15.8 million to the NSW workers compensation scheme.
“Young workers make up approximately 12 per cent of all employment injuries and occupational diseases across the State, and are more vulnerable to workplace safety risks because of their inexperience or reluctance to speak up about safety concerns.
“Our investigation found that a lack of safety systems, instruction and supervision were major contributors to this incident.
“The company failed to train and instruct the workers how to safely remove the cabinet from the truck and did not tell them which forklift could safely carry the cabinet."
“This resulted in the workers selecting the wrong sized forklift with tragic results.”
“This incident highlights the need for employers to have appropriate systems in place to ensure that all workers, particularly young workers, receive sufficient training and support to work safely.”
Failure to manage health and safety can result in serious incidents. So, as well as putting staff wellbeing at risk, businesses can be left exposed to substantial financial penalties, criminal and civil prosecution and loss of reputation.
Don’t risk noncompliance. ISOsafe’s services will protect your business. We will prepare safe systems of work, safety instructions and all other documentation you require. Call us now 1300 789 132 or email us at enquiries@isosafe.com.au, to learn more about our services for businesses and their owners.

Sydney construction company fined $240,000 by SafeWork following explosion

The blast took place on a residential construction site in Eastwood, NSW, when a worker attempted to remove three underground petrol storage tanks using an excavator. The explosion heavily damaged nearby structures and even broke the windows of several buildings across the road.
SafeWork NSW charged the construction company, with a breach of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 for failing to ensure the health and safety of workers and others.
SafeWork’s investigation found that the company hired an unqualified contractor to remove the tanks.
Executive Director of SafeWork NSW, Peter Dunphy said although no one was injured in the explosion, the incident could have been catastrophic.
“Storage tanks that previously contained flammable liquids or gases must be handled with extreme care as there can be vapors which, even after many years, may ignite when exposed to heat,” Mr Dunphy said.
“Businesses and workers should take extreme care working near or on items that contain chemical residue, especially solvents.
“It is extremely fortunate that the contractor and people in nearby buildings were not killed or injured in the explosion.”
Mr Dunphy added that the company also failed to provide notice of their planned demolition work.
“The company failed to notify SafeWork NSW about demolition work as well as the schedule 11 hazardous chemicals in the abandoned petrol storage tanks at the site,” he said.
“The company took no steps to address the risks and chose to rely on the contractor’s claimed experience, with near-disastrous consequences.”
Failure to manage contractors can result in costly incidents. So, as well as putting worker and public safety at risk, businesses can be left exposed to substantial financial penalties, criminal and civil prosecution and loss of reputation.
Don’t risk noncompliance. ISOsafe’s services will protect your business. We will prepare safe systems of work, safety instructions and all other documentation you require. Call us now 1300 789 132 to learn more about our services for businesses.

The training and compliance paradigm

Well-trained staff and qualified professionals are essential in making sure the business is safe. Companies that provide health and safety information and training, not only meet their legal responsibilities, but also ensure staff know how to work safely and without risks to themselves or others.

Effective training will contribute towards making your employees competent in health and safety and it can help businesses avoid the distress and costs that accidents and ill-health can cause.

Training can be on the job, online or in a classroom setting. In-company training can be useful as the course can be designed to fit the organisations exact needs.

ISOsafe’s fully tailored training solutions will consider your organisations health and safety documentation, general operational policies and procedures, site specific needs, and include organisational branding.

Our training solutions are pragmatic, focusing on environments and situations that the learners are familiar with, thereby making the training more engaging. An example of this is our sought-after Risk Assessment in Practice training. By using the organisations scenarios for hazard identification and risk assessment, it makes the learning readily applicable to learners.

Many clients have found our training to be particularly effective in ensuring company processes are adhered to, resulting in operational efficiencies and greater customer satisfaction.

To learn more about our training solutions, contact us today.

Keeping safe in construction

Think health and safety is some other lucky bugger’s responsibility?

Think again.

In construction, everyone gets to have a slice of the pie, from clients to workers on the ground.

Whatever hat you wear, there’s always something you can do. Here are some of the ways you can demonstrate due diligence:

If you’re a client:

•   Clients don’t get to wash their hands of Health and Safety – you’re just as important as the rest of the team. If you’re having work done, you’ve got responsibilities under the regulations
•   Make sure everyone you employ is competent. Don’t be afraid to ask for evidence to confirm this
•   Give pre-construction info promptly
•   Make sure there are arrangements in place to cover all safety and environmental legislation requirements

If you’re a designer:

•   Your client’s paying you a pretty penny to make sure you do your job right. You need to make them aware of their duties too – before you start work
•   Avoid risk. As the designer, you’ve got the crystal ball to spot any hazards before they happen. It’s called risk management – do it!

If you’re a principal contractor:

•   Project management is about making sure you plan, implement and review everything properly
•   Draw up the rules – make sure you’ve got appropriate site rules for the area set up
•   Notification – you’ve got to have all the correct formal notices on display on site, no exceptions!

If you’re a small builder:

•   Set realistic lead times, and allow lots of extra time for planning and preparation
•   Restrict site access
•   Provide information and training – your workers need to have task specific training. ISOsafe can help with this!

If you’re a construction worker:

•   Stay competent – always refresh your training and make sure you know how to do things safely
•   Remove hazards – spotted something dangerous? Don’t be a plonker – get it out of the way! Or at least tell someone about it
•   Follow the rules
•   Report any problems

Partner with ISOsafe to manage your workers health and safety. Get in touch with one of our team members to learn about our services for businesses.