WorkSafe

Employers have been reminded to take steps to keep children away from hazardous workplaces during the coming school holidays.

WorkSafe WA Commissioner Darren Kavanagh said today many workplaces contained hazards that could result in injury, and some even contained potentially deadly hazards.

“Workplaces such as factories and construction sites are not suitable locations for children and, sadly, many children have been seriously injured or killed in workplaces such as these over the years,” Mr Kavanagh said.

WorkSafe is investigating the work-related death of a 25-year-old worker at Condingup (east of Esperance) yesterday.

The man was believed to have been working on the roof of a shed when he and another worker fell. The other worker was injured in the fall.

Inspectors travelled to the site this morning and will interview witnesses and investigate the circumstances.

WorkSafe thoroughly investigates serious work-related injuries and deaths in WA with a view to preventing future incidents of a similar nature.

The City of Armadale has had a fine increased by $80,000 over a 2014 incident in which a member of the public was seriously injured when struck by a front-end loader at a waste disposal site.

The City was fined $30,000 (plus costs) in April 2018 over the incident after being charged with failing to provide and maintain a safe workplace.

Jobseekers wanting to work in the WA construction industry may be misled by a company offering “introductory” online safety training courses.

It is a requirement for people working on a construction site in Australia to have what is known as a “white card” which indicates they have undertaken and passed a safety induction course delivered by a registered training provider.

Consumer Protection and WorkSafe in WA are investigating a training provider that is offering an “introductory” course for a reduced fee of about one-third of the usual cost of the full course.

The death of a 76-year-old farmer last month at Elleker, west of Albany, has prompted a reminder about quad bike safety.

The farmer went out on a quad bike to do some checks on the afternoon of May 24. He had not returned that evening and was later found deceased on the farm.

His quad bike was operated on a steep incline in wet and windy weather, and it appeared it was being ridden down the slope when the farmer lost control and the bike flipped and landed on him.

A Bayswater waste recycling company has been found guilty of gross negligence over a 2016 incident in which a labour hire worker’s arm was amputated at the shoulder.

Resource Recovery Solutions Pty Ltd was found guilty of gross negligence in failing to provide and maintain a safe work environment for a labour hire worker in the Perth Magistrates Court on Friday.

In January 2016, a worker at Resource Recovery Solutions had his arm amputated at the shoulder when it was caught in the crush point between a conveyer belt and a roller at the automated recycling plant.

A WorkSafe proactive inspection program looking at safety issues in commercial kitchens in various workplaces has raised some concerns.

The program took place throughout the 2019/20 financial year, focusing on kitchens located in a range of workplaces including cafes, food courts and accommodation premises in metropolitan and regional areas of the State.

Inspectors from the Retail & Service Industries Team concentrated on the priority areas of manual tasks, electricity, slips, trips and falls and the use of hazardous substances.

WorkSafe has commenced prosecution action against a plumbing company and a construction company over the drowning death of a plumber in 2018.

Ryan and Melissa Pty Ltd – trading as Vivian Plumbing and Civil – has been charged with failing to provide and maintain a safe work environment and, by that failure, causing the death of an employee in circumstances of gross negligence. The maximum penalty is a fine of $2.7million.

WorkSafe is investigating incidents leading to the deaths of two men in regional areas at the weekend.

WorkSafe has been notified that a 55-year-old truck driver was killed at Emu Flats (near Kalgoorlie) on Saturday when the water truck he was driving rolled on a dirt road.

Notification has also been received that a 38-year-old labourer died after being thrown from an all-terrain vehicle on a farm at Benger (near Harvey).

WorkSafe is continuing to look closely at workplaces in an effort to minimise the risk to WA workers of contracting the deadly disease silicosis.

A proactive inspection program began in July 2018, looking at stone benchtop fabricators where respirable crystalline silica (RCS) is generated during work activities.

It was widened in July 2019 to include other workplaces where RCS may be generated, such as during wall chasing and sample preparation in fire assay laboratories.