Unsafe excavation work at construction site leads to fine

A construction company has been ordered to pay over £16,000 for unsafe excavation work at a construction site.

The facts

The excavation, made to connect a home to a sewer, went down three metres deep into totally unsupported soft clay. The company had failed to adequately plan the excavation and workers were put in danger by unsupported sidewalls that could have collapsed. A witness notified HSE and explained that they had seen someone climbing from the excavation, as well as tools and equipment at the bottom. Although the excavation did not collapse and there were no injuries, workers could have been killed if the clay sidewalls gave way.

Excavation safety

Every year, workers are seriously injured or killed while working in excavations. The risks in excavation work include:
- Being buried in a collapsed excavation
- Material falling into the excavation
- People or plant falling into the excavation

An employer's legal responsibilities

An employer must prevent danger to workers in or near excavations. A competent person should inspect all excavation supports at the commencement of the work shift and at other times. Work should not start until the excavation is safe.

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Source: The Health and Safety Executive

Worker receives compensation for mental health problems following workplace death of colleague

A cold storage company was ordered to pay over $325,000 in compensation to a worker who suffered post-traumatic stress disorder and depression after the death of a colleague.

The fatal accident occurred when the worker was driving a loaded forklift at a factory and a co-worker walked in front of it, and pallets loaded on the forklift fell on him.

WorkSafe argued in the County Court that the company’s negligence was to blame for the incident. An investigation found that the company did not have an adequate traffic management system at the time.

The company was ordered to pay $326,047 for medical expenses, past losses and another year of future loss, including superannuation.

Source: Hobsons Bay Weekly

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Mining giant convicted over worker's death

A mining giant has been found guilty of failing to protect the safety of a worker who was crushed to death by a scissor lift in a workshop.

The court found that the mining company had failed to provide instruction and supervision, and had failed to implement and enforce a suitable job hazard assessment, which led to the worker’s death in 2008. The company faces penalties of up to $400,000, with sentencing scheduled for March 19.

In early 2009, the company had its fifth fatality in nine months at its iron ore operations in a WA region and was forced to acknowledge change was needed.

“Of course, no fatality is ever acceptable, and senior management took that commitment extremely seriously and made a number of improvements across the business in this regard” The company commented in a statement.

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Source: The West Australian

Workers injured in wall collapse at building site

Two men in their twenties were hospitalised last week, after a wall collapsed onto them at a building site.

The men were working to smooth off concrete on the wall when a rock supported by the wall collapsed. The Metropolitan Fire Brigade attended the accident and had to winch one of the men out of the rubble using a crane. One of the workers suffered an injured hip, while the other worker suffered an injured wrist.

WorkSafe Victoria issued a prohibition notice on the site, preventing any further work until an engineer assessed the site.

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Source: The Age

Studies show up to half of all heavy-truck drivers suffer from sleep apnoea

An inquest has heard that up to half of all heavy-truck drivers suffer from sleep apnoea, a condition blamed for causing a Victorian truckie to fall asleep at the wheel before a fatal head-on collision.

The 52-year-old truck driver was diagnosed with severe obstructive sleep apnoea after the collision. He pleaded guilty to negligent driving causing death and was given a suspended 10-month jail sentence.

Royal Prince Alfred Hospital sleep specialist Anup Desai said that the disorder was prevalent but under-reported, and even though GPs detected symptoms, they didn't necessarily refer truck drivers for further assessment and diagnosis by a sleep specialist.

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Source: The Australian

Worker's serious injuries lead to £7,000 fine for labels company

A labels company has been fined for a safety breach after a worker sustained a serious hand injury when it was caught between two contra rotating rollers on a working machine.

The employee severed the first finger of his right hand to the second knuckle and broke his middle finger in the incident.

He was attempting to clean a coating roller on a finishing machine, and had removed the roller several times to make adjustments and clean away dried on primer. He then tried to brush off the dried primer from the roller while it was in situ on the working machine, but his right hand was caught and pulled between two rollers.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive established that the machine was missing suitable guarding, and had been for some time. Had a guard been fitted the incident would have been avoided.

The company was fined £7,000 and ordered to pay £5,637 in costs after pleading guilty.

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Source: http://www.hse.gov.uk/press/2013/rnn-se-00313.htm?eban=rss-

Study reveals 20% of Australians have fatigue and exhaustion from lack of sleep

Around 20% of Australians have fatigue and exhaustion due to lack of sleep, according to a national survey.

The Sleep Health Foundation's study of adult sleeping habits showed that one in five of respondents said poor sleep affected their mood and ability to perform daily activities.

The Foundation's chairman Professor David Hillman says sleepiness can significantly increase the risk of an accident on the road or in the workplace.

"A lot of the population work under the misapprehension that they can get by with less sleep than they actually need," he said.

"The average adult needs seven-and-a-half to eight hours sleep a night and if they don't get it, they feel it."

"Sleep's in this rather grim competition with the other things we want to do - social life, family life and work life - and for a lot of people it comes off a rather poor fourth in that competition."

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Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-12-31/tired-australians-risk-accidents-mood-disorders/4447922

Worker receives compensation for injuries sustained on his day off

A flight attendant with a major airline has won a landmark legal case that could affect hundreds of workers who are injured while travelling for job-related reasons on days off.

The Industrial Court President found:
• The worker was injured in a traffic accident the day before he was due to renew his US Visa.
• The airline required him to renew his Visa in his own time, booked his early morning appointment and paid for his early morning flight.
• His employment was "a significant contributing factor" to his injuries and he was entitled to compensation.
• The nature and terms of his employment and the decisions of the airline caused the worker to be in traffic when and where he was injured.

The worker’s lawyer, Greg Black, said the decision could protect other workers whose employers required them to travel in their own time to renew work-related licences or visas or meet job conditions.

Source: The Australian
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Salad company prosecuted after worker fell over 4m

A salad company has been sentenced for safety breaches after a worker fell more than 4m through a greenhouse roof.

The 44-year-old was cleaning and repainting greenhouse gutters when he lost his footing and fell through the glass roof. He broke his wrist and needed 20 staples across a head wound before being released from hospital after an overnight stay.

The Health and Safety Executive prosecuted the firm for failing to protect its workforce against the risk of falls. The company was fined £12,500 with £3,921 in costs.

The worker was one of a team of employees tasked with working on the gutters of 20 greenhouses at the firm's 30-acre site. The team were told to walk heel to toe along the gutters and to use a long-handled brush to steady themselves against the glazing bars. No equipment was provided and no instruction given to protect them against a fall.

The worker had cleaned some guttering and returned to the ground to collect his brush and paint. He climbed back up and had completed a short length of paintwork when his right foot went through the glass and he fell through the fragile roof.

HSE Inspector Andrew Gale said: "This case highlights how important it is for employers to identify the risks involved in working at height, particularly near fragile materials, and taking the necessary steps to reduce those risks and prevent falls.

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Source: http://www.hse.gov.uk/press/2012/rnn-yh-20112.htm

Waste management firm fined after 2 workers injured within a week

A waste management firm has admitted neglecting the safety of its workforce after 2 men were injured within just a week.

The first incident happened when site workers were setting up a waste sorting machine for use. One worker climbed on to its front conveyor belt and kneeled down to clear a blockage, while his co-worker thought he had gone to fetch something and started up the machine. He was propelled along the belt and dropped ten feet. He suffered fractures to his foot and skin and nerve damage.

The second incident occurred when a worker was helping to restart a Jaw Crusher machine. He saw some wire tangled in a magnetic belt roller and went to pull it free. The machine suddenly restarted and the wire was pulled back into the rollers along with the worker’s left forearm. He sustained crush injuries to his forearm.

The company had failed to implement simple measures that would have prevented both incidents and had ignored earlier warnings by the Health and Safety Executive about the lack of a safe system of work.

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Source: http://www.hse.gov.uk/press/2012/rnn-yh-19212.htm?eban=rss-

Truck company fined over worker's life-changing injuries

A firm has been prosecuted after one of its employees suffered life-changing injuries when he fell from a stepladder while spray-painting a lorry.

The Health and Safety Executive investigation found that the same employee had fallen off a stepladder just one month before the incident, but no action had been taken to improve safety at the site.

The worker had been painting the lorry when one of the feet on the stepladder slipped down a grill in the concrete floor. He fell approximately two metres and shattered his left shoulder and collar bone, broke several ribs and received a deep cut to his head.

HSE Inspector Kim Tichias said: "The dangers of carrying out work at height are well known and the company should have provided secure working platforms rather than giving employees lightweight stepladders. If the firm had planned the work properly and made changes following the previous incident, then the worker's injuries could have been avoided."

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Source: http://www.hse.gov.uk/press/2012/rnn-e-98.htm

2012 WorkSafe Awards Finalists Announced

Finalists for the 24th annual WorkSafe Victoria Awards have been announced following a record number of entries in 2012.

The awards attracted 286 entries from across Victoria, with 35 finalists from a range of industries and workplaces chosen across nine categories, representing safety, health and wellbeing and return to work.

WorkSafe Acting Chief Executive Ian Forsyth said that the strong interest in the awards demonstrated the value Victorian employers and workers place on making workplaces safe and supporting people who are injured at work. “Through their efforts, [the finalists] are not only improving the health and safety of their colleagues, but helping make Victoria a safer state in which to work."

"Victoria has Australia’s safest workplaces, recording a record low injury rate for 2011/12, and its employers pay the lowest premiums for workplace injury insurance; however this will only continue if high safety standards are maintained.”

Winners will be announced at an awards presentation on 1 November, during Work Safe Week.

For more information about the WorkSafe Awards, to view the finalists’ and their entries or to register to attend the free awards presentation, visit www.worksafeawards.com.au

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Source: http://www.worksafenews.com.au/component/k2/item/258-worksafe-awards-finalists-announced.html

Fines of $162,400 proposed for New Jersey company cited with 18 health and safety violations

A New Jersey company is facing fines of up to $162,400 after it was cited by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration with 18 alleged safety and health violations at the company's warehouse.

Citations have been issued for two willful violations that involve permitting employees to ride on the forks of forklifts and a failure to provide fall protection on platforms. Other violations include locked or sealed emergency exit doors, improperly labelled doors, the improper storage of liquid propane tanks, unsafe material storage, exposing employees to live electrical parts, failing to implement a hazard communication program and failing to provide training or material safety data sheets to employees handling hazardous chemicals.

"These violations reflect the company's lax attitude toward workplace safety and health," said Kris Hoffman, director of OSHA's Area Office. "Without the proper safeguards in place, employees are vulnerable to accidents that can cause injuries and even death."  

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Source: http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=NEWS_RELEASES&p_id=23013

£167,000 fine for construction company following worker’s death

A construction company has been ordered to pay £210,000 in fines and costs after an employee died following an explosion on a construction site. The explosion occurred following damage to an 11,000 volt live cable within an excavation. The 22-year-old construction operative suffered burns over 60% of his body.

The company had not informed workers that there were live cables in the excavation and the company failed to put adequate measures in place to prevent workers from coming into contact with the cable. The company pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.

After the hearing, HSE inspector Lisa Chappell, said: "This incident highlights the absolute necessity for such work to be properly planned and managed. Operatives should be briefed on the presence of cables and a safe system of working should be robustly enforced. The worker’s family continues to grieve the loss of a son and brother following an incident that could have easily been prevented."

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Source: http://www.hse.gov.uk/press/2012/rnn-ldn-200912.htm

Firm in court over worker's life-threatening fall

A firm has been sentenced after a worker received life-threatening injuries when he fell from scaffolding at a sports centre.

The 43-year-old man suffered a brain haemorrhage, fractured skull, collapsed lung and broken collarbone, ribs, wrist and fingers. His employer was prosecuted by the HSE after an investigation found the scaffolding tower the company provided was unsafe. The brakes on the wheels of the scaffolding tower had not been applied to stop it moving and there was no edge protection around the work platform to prevent employees falling off.

The man fell more than two metres to the concrete floor below when the tower started to move across the room as he was working.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE Inspector Mark Baker said: "The scaffolding tower the company provided simply wasn't up to the job and [the worker’s] life was put in danger the minute he started to climb it. This case should act as a warning to firms not to cut corners and to make sure they use the right equipment for the job they're doing."

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For more information on this workplace health and safety news, visit http://www.hse.gov.uk/press/2012/rnn-nw-cmeceilings.htm

Workplace bullying laws need reform, experts and unions claim

Unions and experts have urged the government to make sweeping reforms to workplace bullying laws, arguing the current system prolongs victims’ pain.
- After finishing public hearings in August, a parliamentary committee will deliver its report to the Workplace Relations Minister by November 30.
- The ACTU has called for tougher penalties and a more accessible forum to quickly and cheaply resolve bullying complaints.
- The Law Institute of Victoria argues there should be a “quick, cost effective civil remedy through a tribunal for bullying in the workplace”.
- Employers need more certainty surrounding changes to unfair dismissal laws so that they are not in a catch-22 situation when it comes to sacking staff for bullying, says Daniel Mammone, the workplace policy director at the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
- Employers have told the bullying inquiry existing laws provide sufficient protection for victims.

For more information on this workplace safety and HR news, visit: http://www.afr.com/p/national/work_space/bullying_laws_need_reforms_experts_UZD6NPVBVvmYkeAD56dHUK

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Manufacturer fined after worker suffers severe hand injuries

A manufacturer has been fined for safety failings after an employee seriously injured his hand when it became trapped in machinery. The employee was left with a severe burn to his left hand and a crush injury to his thumb as a result of the incident.

The company was prosecuted by the HSE after an investigation found there was no guarding on the machine to prevent employees' hands being trapped. The company pleaded guilty to a breach of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 by failing to carry out an assessment of the risks employees faced while using the machine. The company was fined £15,000 and ordered to pay £3,518 in prosecution costs.

For more information on this workplace safety news, visit: http://www.hse.gov.uk/press/2012/rnn-nw-leyrubber.htm

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Energy company scraps urine testing for drugs and alcohol

Unions have welcomed a decision by Endeavour Energy to stop urine testing its employees for drugs and alcohol, and instead introduce saliva-based testing.
- The NSW electricity retailer has written to staff advising them that they've accepted a Fair Work Australia ruling against the regime and will not lodge any further appeals.
- “The decision has transformational potential when it comes to [the] development of a universal Australian standard for testing” - The Fire Brigade Employees Union state secretary.
- “Other industries and unions are likely to review this decision and look at ways they can implement a more transparent, fair and reasonable testing regime in the form of oral swab testing” - United Services Union energy manager.

For more information on this workplace safety news, visit: http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=8528236

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Massachusetts manufacturer facing $110K OSHA fine

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Wyman Gordon Company for 29 alleged serious violations of safety standards at its Grafton, Mass., manufacturing plant.

The metal forgings manufacturer faces $109,500 in proposed fines following two OSHA inspections conducted between September 2008 and March 2009. OSHA issues serious citations when death or serious physical harm is likely to result from hazards about which the employer knew or should have known.

The first inspection, conducted under OSHA's Site-Specific Targeting program, identified damaged support structures for overhead cranes; damaged support frames for large metal dies; slipping and tripping hazards; unguarded floors and platforms; missing access stairs; a damaged access ladder; non-functioning emergency exit lights; an overloaded fork truck; an overloaded lifting attachment; defective wire rope slings; unguarded machinery; improper storage of compressed gas cylinders and several electrical safety deficiencies.

OSHA began the second inspection in response to a December 23 accident in which two employees were injured when they were struck by a 700-pound forging that shot up in the air while they were attempting to free it from a malfunctioning die on a power press. OSHA cited Wyman Gordon for not developing procedures to prevent the build-up and release of hazardous energy generated by the press during the servicing.

"Each of these conditions must be addressed promptly, completely and effectively to prevent future accidents and injuries, and help ensure the safety and health of the plant's employees," said Mary Hoye, OSHA's area director for central and western Massachusetts.

Wyman Gordon has 15 business days from receipt of the citations to comply, request an informal conference with the OSHA area director or contest the citations and proposed penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

Source:
Reliable Plant.

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Stone company fined after worker crushed to death

A Perth company has been fined $60,000 after one of its workers was crushed by a 217kg stone slab.

D'Amelio Stone, which imports and processes stone, and its director Nicola D'Amelio were handed the penalty after pleading guilty in the Perth Magistrates Court to failing to provide a safe working environment.

The charges arose from the death of the 43-year-old worker at the company's Wangara premises in March 2007. 

The man and a co-worker were trying to move the slab from a storage shed to a workshop with the help of a forklift when the accident happened.

The man held the slab vertically while his co-worker removed a slab behind it. It was usual practice at D'Amelio for workers to manually tilt the slabs while they were clamped and lifted by forklift.

However the slab fell towards the worker holding it, crushing him between it and other slabs in a rack behind him.

WorkSafe acting executive director John Innes said "it could not reasonably be considered" that D'Amelio engaged in safe work practices by having workers hold a 217kg slab upright manually.

The company later changed its work practices, but was aware of the way the slabs were moved and did nothing "until it was too late", Mr Innes said.

March 9, 2009

Source: http://www.watoday.com.au/wa-news/stone-company-fined-after-worker-crushed-to-death-20090309-8sw7.html

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