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.

Are you killing your sedentary workers?

One news story that keeps coming back time and again is that of the health risks associated with sedentary jobs. It doesn’t take a genius to realise that sitting down all day is bad for our waistlines and general health, but research suggests that the long-term risks are worse than previously thought.

Sitting causes cancer?

One particularly scary headline that has been doing the rounds claims that sitting for eight hours at work is directly linked to breast and colon cancer. Looking into the details of the research, however, it becomes clear that sitting for long periods merely increased the risk of developing either form of cancer (in conjunction with other contributing factors like obesity).

Time magazine went even further, claiming that an eight-hour day increased the risk of developing cancer by 66%. This horrific sounding statistic is tempered by looking at the specific incident rate – the odds of a 30-year old man developing colon cancer by the age of 60 is just under 1%.

The importance of movement

Although the study indicates that the chances of developing colon cancer are quite small, they also help to underscore the importance of getting away from the desk regularly. By spending two out of every eight hours of a working day standing (or better still, moving), workers can reduce their colon cancer risk by 0.8%.

Obviously this sounds impractical, but the same net result can be achieved by spending just 15 minutes each hour walking away from the desk. For instance, instead of calling or emailing a colleague in the next office, walking to speak to meet them and having a conversation face-to-face – talking directly may even raise the standard of communications throughout the business.

A ticking time bomb

In the same way that the symptoms of asbestos exposure take many years to develop, the full impact of a sedentary lifestyle may take decades to become apparent. The move from traditional physical labour, to an information-based economy has changed the way we work, encouraging us to do less physical exercise as part of our normal work routine.

It is important then that employers take the potential dangers seriously as part of their standard workplace risk assessments. Every employee should already be subject to a workstation health check to verify that their screen is positioned correctly and is glare-free, and their chair provides suitable support for the lower back.

But in light of mounting evidence that sitting all day is incredibly bad for health, employers should also be looking at ways to encourage employees to take more exercise. Risk assessments and operating procedures should be adapted to encourage light exercise during the working day – like suggesting employees use stairs rather than lifts, or that they stand for 10-15 minutes every hour.

Keeping employees safe and healthy is not only important for their wellbeing, but it also has a direct impact on productivity, and therefore profitability. If your workforce develops long term illnesses related to desk-based work, your business will suffer as a result.

So over to you – how does your business approach the potential problems related to an increasingly sedentary workforce?

Contact ISOsafe today to learn more about our office-wellbeing initiatives for your workplace.

Cancer awareness in the workplace

Thursday the 4th February 2016 is World Cancer Day. Solar radiation is a known carcinogen. It is also the major cause of skin cancer in Australia and represents a major workplace hazard to workers in outdoor occupations.

Work Health & Safety legislation requires employers (and their managers) to provide and maintain safe working environments. Employers must ensure their workers can undertake duties safely and without risk to their health - this includes exposure to solar radiation. In turn, workers have a responsibility for their own Health & Safety. Workers must follow sun safety policies and use sun protective measures provided.

Cooperation between employers and their workers can help minimise exposure in the workplace, this may include:

•    reducing the amount of time outdoor workers spend in the sun;
•    providing and maintaining equipment needed to protect workers from the sun; and
•    information, instruction, training and supervision to reduce exposure.

Since 2002 workers in a wide range of outdoor occupations have been able to claim the cost of sunglasses, hats and sunscreen as a tax deduction. This is because wearing sun protective clothing, sunglasses, sunscreen and hats is no different from wearing safety boots, hard hats or gloves to reduce workplace injury. For more information visit the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) website.

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