death – Page 66 – SafetyAtWorkBlog

If safety culture begins at the top, what message is the Australian Government sending on insulation installer deaths?

If safety culture is set and developed by leaders, what does it mean when a Prime Minister launches a scheme that places the creation of jobs over the need for worker safety?

Two days before International Workers’ Memorial Day, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Four Corners program analyses the failed insulation scheme initiated by the Australian Government in 2009.

According to the Four Corners website:

“Four Corners takes a forensic look at a chain of events that began with so many good intentions but ended in death and political humiliation. What exactly were the warnings given to the Department of Environment and the Minister Peter Garrett? Why did senior officials inside the Department reject safety concerns, preferring to play up the job creation aspects of the program?”

An audio preview of the Four Corners is available online. In that interview a whistleblower from the Department of the Environment states that

“..we were told that safety was of less importance than job creation.” Continue reading “If safety culture begins at the top, what message is the Australian Government sending on insulation installer deaths?”

The fragility of evidence – suicide example

Workplace fatality data is an essential ingredient in benchmarking safety performance for business and government. Suicide statistics are equally important in the social and public health context.

The editorial in the current issue of the Medical Journal of Australia has some interesting comments on how suicide statistics have been collected in Australia over the last decade.

“….a great deal of caution must be employed when interpreting trends in suicide in Australia during the past decade, Continue reading “The fragility of evidence – suicide example”

Fortescue Metals contests cyclone deaths

In December 2008 Fortescue Metals Group said it would contest charges it breached OHS laws over the death of two people. In April 2010, it is seeking to avoid the charges.

On March 9 2007, tropical cyclone George hit a camp site in north-west Australia killing two people and injuring others. The temporary accommodation shelters, “dongas”, in which workers were sheltering provided insufficient protection for many workers.

According to one media report on 12 April 2010, the lawyer for FMG, John Karkar,

“…. said his clients’ operations were governed by the Mines Safety Inspections Act because the Pilbara camp was built for the accommodation of mine workers and workers who were building a railway line which was to be used to transport iron ore.” Continue reading “Fortescue Metals contests cyclone deaths”

BHP Billiton has another mining fatality at Leinster mine

On 12 April 2010, the electronic media (video report available) reported a fatality at a BHP Billiton mine in Western Australia where

“a truck plunged 18 metres down a shaft at the Perseverance nickel mine near Leinster.”

Newspapers on 13 April 2010 have provided further details. The 45-year old man, Wayne Ross, was operating a “bogger” at the time. A profile of a bogger operator is available HERE. which reads

“Being a Bogger Operator is a very physically demanding job. You need to operate heavy excavators in dark damp conditions, however you will be well rewarded for this. Some Bogger operators can earn around $80,000 a year.”

The Leinster mine has been the site of several deaths since 2006. Four workers have died on BHP Billiton mine sites since July 2009.

The Age reports that the bogger the worker “was driving fell almost 20 metres down the mine shaft” and it took around 18 hours to retrieve his body. Continue reading “BHP Billiton has another mining fatality at Leinster mine”

The fatal consequences of riding in the tray of a pick-up or ute

In 2007, Pedro Balading fell off the back of a utility vehicle while working in remote outback Australia and died. On 16 March 2010, the owner of the Wollogorang cattle station, Panoy P/L, was fined $A60,000 over the death.

According to one media report:

“Pedro Balading, a 35-year-old father of three, was a Manila piggeries supervisor who arrived at Wollogorang Station in early 2007 and found himself isolated, underpaid and performing menial jobs. He asked to go home but was told by his employer, Panoy Pty Ltd, and the labour hire firm that brought him from the Philippines to complete his two-year contract.”

Work Health Authority‘s executive director, Laurene Hull said in a media statement:

“The danger associated with travelling in the back of a moving utility, where the risk of falling from the moving vehicle can result in death or serious injury is common knowledge,” Ms Hull said. “Panoy Pty Ltd failed to take appropriate steps to ensure the hazard posed by travelling in the back of utilities was known to the workers and the risks appropriately managed.” Continue reading “The fatal consequences of riding in the tray of a pick-up or ute”

Two farmers dead and two injured from contacting overhead electricity cables

On 16 March 2010, two farmers outside Rainbow in Victoria were killed when the windmill they were moving touched live overhead electricity cables. According to preliminary reports from the emergency ambulance service, two work colleagues went to the rescue and were injured themselves.

A video report is available HERE.

According to media information from WorkSafe Victoria:

“A father and son died this morning while moving a 25-foot metal windmill which came into contact with a 12,500 volt power line.

The incident occurred while moving a 25 foot metal windmill was being moved using a tractor with a forklift attachment on it.” Continue reading “Two farmers dead and two injured from contacting overhead electricity cables”

Gas, lungs, ladders, fruit picking and concrete pumping – latest workplace incidents

The media on 11 March 2010 was reporting the discovery of a the body of a hotel worker in a beer cellar of a Victorian hotel. WorkSafe Victoria is investigating the possibility of carbon dioxide.

As with so many cases of confined spaces, a second man was lucky to be alive after venturing into the cellar to check on the hotel worker. The police report suggested that the second man was making a delivery to the hotel.

At such an early stage in the investigation and with so little detail,it is hard to say more than what WorkSafe’s Stan Krpan said in a media release this afternoon:

“With or without a gas leak or chemical exposure, limited means of entry and exit, poor air circulation, and working in confined spaces, is risky. Continue reading “Gas, lungs, ladders, fruit picking and concrete pumping – latest workplace incidents”

Category: death

If safety culture begins at the top, what message is the Australian Government sending on insulation installer deaths?

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The fragility of evidence – suicide example

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Fortescue Metals contests cyclone deaths

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BHP Billiton has another mining fatality at Leinster mine

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The fatal consequences of riding in the tray of a pick-up or ute

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Two farmers dead and two injured from contacting overhead electricity cables

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Gas, lungs, ladders, fruit picking and concrete pumping – latest workplace incidents

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