Falls cost employers millions of dollars each year in lost time, compensation and third-party liability suits. For the period 2003-04 to 2008-09, there have been 180 fatalities as a result of falls from height, 10.67% of total fatalities recorded during this period, according to Safe Work Australia statistics. More specifically, in 2008-09, 33 deaths occurred as a result of falls from height (39% being from the ‘Construction’ industry). ‘Fall from a height’ is the third largest killer of people in the workplace behind ‘vehicle incidents’ and ‘being hit by moving objects’. Of the 33 ‘fall from a height’ fatalities recorded in 2008-09, nine were from buildings and structures; six from ladders; four from trucks, semitrailers and lorries; and three from scaffolds. [ + ]

The process for harmonising rail safety throughout Australia’s states and territories has commenced with South Australia passing the Rail Safety National Law (South Australia) Bill 2011 (SA Bill) through both houses of parliament. [ + ]

WorkSafe Western Australia has issued a safety alert highlighting the importance of using safe procedures when pumping hazardous chemicals following a recent incident where two workers were injured while transferring chromic acid solution from an intermediate bulk container (IBC) to another vessel using a submersible sump pump. [ + ]

Fire protection specialist Wormald has designed and installed a fire suppression system for Logset’s new forestry vehicle, the 10F Titan Forwarder. Logset is a Finnish manufacturer of forestry machinery and has recently started operating in the Australian market. The company provides solutions to logging professionals and its 10F Titan Forwarder is a heavy-framed machine with a load capacity of 18 tonnes. [ + ]

The use of the synthetic drug Kronic among NSW miners has prompted specialised drug screening. The Director of Mine Safety Operations, Rob Regan, from NSW Trade & Investment, says the Work Health and Safety legislation imposes a duty on a Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking (PCBU) to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers and others at work. The Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 requires that hazards are identified and the resultant risks eliminated or controlled. [ + ]

Almost 2200 (44%) of 5000 workers recently surveyed felt their work impacts negatively on their mental or physical health, reveals research conducted by Medibank. The research examined 13 different industries and discovered that many workers felt their employment impacted their health, with over one in two (54%) specifying that work affected their physical health and 40% believing it impacted their mental health. A quarter felt they worked for an organisation that had a high risk of harm to their physical health (26%) or mental health (24%). [ + ]

Tech Innovations has designed and developed Tech Table, a product that allows technicians to perform the task on a stable, height-adjustable working platform that is lightweight and easily transported. It is designed to alleviate many challenging manual handling and safety issues confronted by technicians when terminating data cables. [ + ]

The Gillard government has announced that the 2012-2013 budget will support jobs, building on an investment in skills, training and assistance. It was claimed that protecting jobs has been “the number one priority of the Gillard government from day one”, with the following measures intended to reflect that commitment. [ + ]

The Federal Court has upheld a workers compensation claim by a Commonwealth worker whose ‘private activities’ with a ‘male friend’ in a motel room caused a glass light fitting above the bed to fall and strike her on the nose and mouth leaving her with physical and psychological injuries. [ + ]

Between 8000 to 10,000 employees in the mining industry experienced a common mental health illness over a 12-month period, reveals a report released at the recent NSW Minerals Council’s 2012 Occupational Health and Safety Conference in the Hunter. It is estimated that people from across all mining employment categories are affected equally, from managers and professionals through to machinery operators and drivers. [ + ]

The NSW Business Chamber, in association with Restaurant & Catering Australia, is calling for a new approach to penalty rates in an application lodged with Fair Work Australia. [ + ]

The fundamental goal of any respiratory protection program is to control occupational diseases caused by breathing air contaminated with harmful dusts, fogs, fumes, mists, gases, smokes, sprays and/or vapours. [ + ]

There is little argument that in today’s workplace significant attention has been given to improving the environmental footprint created by work activity and sites. [ + ]

In March 2012, a worker was fatally injured by a falling load while erecting a transmission tower west of Dalby in Queensland. A 20-tonne rough terrain mobile crane was being used to lift part of the tower when it appears the auxiliary winch inadvertently went into free fall and the load fell, striking the worker. Following the incident, Workplace Health and Safety Queensland (WHSQ) has issued a safety alert to highlight the importance of correctly locking out the free fall controls on mobile cranes fitted with this feature. [ + ]

Underpinning and relevelling large commercial buildings has been proven viable with the successful relevelling of a large three-storey building, damaged in last February’s big earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand. [ + ]