Principal contractor convicted and fined after concrete pumping truck tips over

Earlier this month a construction company was convicted and fined $50,000 on one charge of breaching the OH&S Act (2004). Further, the company was ordered to pay $20,000 in court costs.
The company had failed to ensure a safe workplace resulting in a concrete truck tipping over and crashing into nearby scaffolding carrying a worker, on April 5, 2012. The worker suffered a fractured spine, crushed right hand, broken right ankle and foot. He also required skin grafting.
WorkSafe Executive Director of Health and Safety, Marnie Williams, said the company had failed to visually identify or barricade the location of the ventilation shaft at the construction site.
“Covering a shaft with a thin layer of concrete, presumably to prevent people from falling into it, created a new hazard because it actually looked like part of a capping beam,” Ms Williams said.
“There was an obvious risk of serious injury or death. The company failed to ensure that the workplace was safe by not clearly identifying this to workers at the site.”
Ms Williams said construction site safety was a priority for WorkSafe.
“Construction is a high-risk industry and employers must do everything they can to ensure construction sites are managed with the health and safety of all employees in mind,” she said.
“We are planning to conduct more than 13,000 site inspections across the state this year and we will continue to drive home to employers that the safety of every worker must be their number one priority.”
With regulatory bodies on the lookout, can you afford to get caught? 
Don’t risk noncompliance. ISOsafe’s services will protect your business from costly reputational damage. We will conduct workplace safety assessments, prepare site safety management plans and provide training to your workers ensuring compliance and peace of mind. Call us now 1300 789 132 to learn more about our services for businesses and their owners

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.

Managing work related stress and anxiety

Work related stress is the misfit between a worker's needs and capabilities, and what the workplace offers and demands. 

The National Health and Safety Commission (NOHSC) identified stress as the most significant psychological hazard in the workplace, affecting both the mental and physical wellbeing of employees.

In 2013, Safe Work Australia (SWA) released its first report on work-related mental stress and its associated costs based on an analysis of Australian workers' compensation claims data from 2008-09 to 2010-11. The report, which can be downloaded from the SWA website, revealed that mental stress is costing Australian businesses over $10 billion dollars per year. 

Despite this, and the fact that stress has been recognised as a major occupational hazard by unions and government authorities world wide, many Australian employers still do little about the issue.

Employers can help reduce work related stress by:

•   Offering company wide extracurricular activities, such as a company football team. This can be used in team building/strengthening, as well as, assisting in general health & wellbeing of workers. 

•   Providing cool drinking water and promoting healthy eating decisions. Eating well (less sugary, salty and processed foods) will help clear the body of toxins, decreasing fatigue and improving alertness to manage stress.

•   Minimising interruptions. Interruptions at work can cause stress, impacting on productivity. Workers should be trained in prioritising tasks such as answering phone calls and emails at a set time.

ISOsafe can assist in the development of stress management policies, initiatives & training programs for your business - contact us today