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The invisible army
Marissa Deeble from WorkSafe’s Prevention Strategy Division focuses on the safety of workers who perform cleaning tasks.
Have you ever thought about the safety of the workers who clean your workshop or office and why are they referred to as the invisible army?
Often we focus on the workers who perform ‘high risk’ tasks such as operating guillotines, presses, angle grinders and bandsaws. The workers who do the housekeeping (including sweeping, vacuuming and removing rubbish and waste product) or clean the machinery and equipment are equally at risk of workplace injuries.
Injuries can be caused by hazardous manual handling tasks, and machinery and equipment which has not been shut down, de-energised or isolated.
Examples of how these workers have been injured include
- maintaining an awkward posture such as bending whilst cleaning floors (sweeping, mopping or vacuuming)
- exerting high force to remove stains or spills on benches, floors, machinery and equipment or moving waste from the collection bin to the disposal bin
- becoming entangled or crushed by moving machine parts.
Most of these injuries could have been prevented by:
- providing equipment or mechanical aids to enable the worker to maintain a neutral body position
- isolating or de-energising machinery and equipment
- providing training and supervision on safe manual handling techniques and how to use or isolate machinery or equipment.
WorkSafe has guidance to assist you protect the safety of your workers who perform cleaning tasks including -
So, as you sit and consider how safe your workplace really is, make sure you also take account of the cleaning tasks and take action to make them safer.
What do you think about the safety of cleaners and maintenance workers? Let us know.
Is there anything you’d like to read about in For what it’s worth…? Drop us a line at safetyexpress@worksafe.vic.gov.au
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WorkSafe news
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Crush incident costs employer
George Weston Foods Limited was convicted and fined $50,000 after a worker’s hand was trapped between a hot plate and the top of a machine.
The woman was clearing a blockage when a colleague, who was unaware work was still being done, turned the machine back on.
Read more
Alert - Take care in oxygen-deficient atmospheres
WorkSafe has released a new Safety Alert on working in oxygen deficient atmospheres. This Alert is for workers in underground environments.
View here
Training and development opportunity
Small and medium sized businesses in hospitality, manufacturing and retail are invited to take part in a new WorkSafe-funded bullying prevention project.
Read more
Free safety consultation for small businesses
Victorian businesses with up to 20 employees can receive a free three-hour session with an independent health and safety consultant. The consultant will come to your workplace, help identify safety issues relevant to your business and provide useful advice on how to go about addressing any issues.
Register online for a free three-hour safety consultation session
For businesses in the farming sector, applications can also be made by contacting FarmSafe Alliance Managers:
Tim McKenzie, Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) (m) 0407369 294
Sam Beechey, Australian Workers Union (m) 0419 372 478.
Click here for more information about the free service.
How and why did the young worker fall?
The last edition of The Safety Express featured a Canadian safety video investigating what went wrong when a young worker fell from a forklift platform.
About 250 of you viewed the video.
WorkSafe has also produced a Health and Safety Solution Fall restraints on order picking forklifts.
It addresses the safety solutions in the video including:
- harnesses
- not working from attached pallets
- proximity to goods on shelves
- training
- supervision.
Note: A licence is required to operate an order picker.
A not-so-funny workplace safety training video
A small taste of the most unusual workplace safety training video ever produced. A reaper's guide to OHS.
View here
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Manufacturing and logistics
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Meat worker killed at processing plant
A 31-year-old worker died at an Esperance meat processing plant in Western Australia. She was believed to have been working with machinery at the time.
Read more
Man sliced by flying metal
A piece of metal ejected at high speed from a machine has left a worker with significant injuries to his neck and chest. The 53-year-old man’s co-workers applied pressure to his wounds to prevent further blood loss while waiting for paramedics.
Read more
Workers escape factory blaze
A fire broke out in a tar mixing machine at an asphalt factory in Campbellfield. Ten workers were evacuated.
Read more |
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Retail
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Reminder for fall protection
A 24-year-old worker died after falling three metres through a roof at a Highett tile retailer.
Read more
Window cleaner falls 30 metres
A window cleaner fell 30 metres to the ground as she was abseiling down a building in Auckland. The 18-year-old woman, who was fully harnessed and wearing a helmet, is recovering in hospital.
Read more |
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Agriculture
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Farm worker dies after quad bike crash
A 26-year-old worker riding a quad bike died when it crashed into a ditch. He was pinned underneath the bike and partially submerged in shallow water when he was found.
Read more
Forestry worker injured in fall
A kiln operator fractured and dislocated his foot when he fell 3.5 metres while unblocking a kiln cleaning system. The New Zealand pulp mill was fined $37,000.
Read more
Three crushed in tractor roll-overs
WorkSafe BC has produced a video showing what can happen when roll-over protection is not used.
View here |
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SAFTENG
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- Man killed in industrial incident
- Worker killed in warehouse incident
- Forestry worker killed
- Man suffers burns in chemical incident
- Turbine incident shock
- Worker rescued from sand silo
- Forklift incident injures worker
- Worker dies at welding business
- Man burnt at chocolate factory
- Maintenance worker burned
- Worker hurt in scrap metal explosion
- Two killed in explosion in textile factory.
These incidents, and other workplace incidents, are included in the daily safteng.net email service covering world incidents. The incidents are also posted weekly and archived at the safteng.net website. |
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Risky business
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The following image serves to remind people of the dangers of unsafe work practices.
View this weeks RB here.
If you have any photos for Risky business, send them to safetyexpress@worksafe.vic.gov.au. |
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Reported incidents
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In the past two weeks there have been 85 incidents reported to WorkSafe in the manufacturing, logistics, meat, food, agriculture and retail/trade industries.
These included 21 lacerations, 10 fractures, five crush injuries, two amputations and many near-misses.
Read the list for your industry |
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Events
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News
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Be SunSmart at Work
As UV rays are high through to April, SunSmart encourages you to maintain sun protection work practices, even when it is cloudy.
Read more |
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What you've said
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Have your say about this newsletter or an OHS issue.
Send your contributions to safetyexpress@worksafe.vic.gov.au and we will print them here.
WorkSafe reserves the right to edit contributions. |
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Keep yourself in the know
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For more advice or information on improving workplace safety call WorkSafe’s Advisory Service on 1800 136 089 or go to worksafe.vic.gov.au.
WorkSafe produces other eNewsletters for construction, OHS professionals, return to work and work health. Sign up for the industry-targeted newsletters at 'Subscribe to eNews' at worksafe.vic.gov.au.
You can also follow us on Twitter (@WorkSafe_Vic) or YouTube (WorkSafeVictoria). |
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