What can HR do to avoid accidents involving workplace equipment?
For the past two months, WorkSafe has reported four fatalities who died in separate incidents while working around employer-owned vehicles, particularly company trucks.
As the number of worker deaths has increased, the workplace health and safety regulator reminded employers of their obligations to ensure a safe workplace.
According to WorkSafe, the latest truck incident happened on 11 July when a 29-year-old diesel mechanic died after he was run over while working beneath a B-double trailer in Werribee South.
Unfortunately, WorkSafe reported that it was the ninth workplace casualty that involved loading, unloading, or working around trucks for the past 12 months and the fifth in 2022. The other fatalities include:
Moreover, WorkSafe said two more workers died when they were hit by falling loads or equipment.
“A worker died when a truck rolled while loading a skip and another worker suffered fatal injuries after falling from a trailer,” WorkSafe said. “Last week, two workers were seriously injured while loading hot wax onto a tanker in West Melbourne.”
Narelle Beer, WorkSafe executive director of Health and Safety, called for employers to regularly check their workplace safety methods and “do everything they could” to reduce hazards around loading and unloading trucks.
“Whether trucks are making deliveries to a construction site, on a farm, or maneuvering around a depot, wherever trucks are operating, employers must take all reasonable steps to maintain a safe workplace,” Beer said.
The executive director likewise reminded employers to take workplace hazards seriously because authorities have seen “a number of incidents where workplaces did not have adequate traffic management plans in place to reduce the risks from moving trucks, plant, or nearby traffic, resulting in serious injuries.”
Following the workplace fatalities, WorkSafe noted that it would not hesitate to prosecute employers who fail to provide a safe workplace. It pointed out that the penalties could include hefty fines and even jail time.
WorkSafe cited the concrete manufacturer Dandy Premix Concrete Pty Ltd as an example of a violating employer convicted in May 2021 and fined $120,000 after a worker was run over by a truck and severely injured at its Pakenham plant in 2018.
“WorkSafe supports employers to develop safe workplaces and systems through site visits and guidance, with further support available through our free and confidential OHS Essentials program,” the workplace health and safety regulator said.
Recently, WorkSafe said it has targeted activities involving heavy vehicles in all industries.
“Inspectors are visiting workplaces focusing on activities around loading and unloading, including preventing falls from vehicles, objects falling, vehicle roll-aways and being hit by other vehicles, forklifts or animals,” it said.
Additionally, WorkSafe also provided several safety measures for employers when using or working around employer-owned or employer-rented vehicles, and these are the following:
