Graphic billboard images in major WorkSafe Vic campaign

An image of a man with his hand trapped in a mincer has gone up on billboards around Melbourne.

The graphic billboards and a series of dramatic radio scenarios are the latest stage in a major campaign by WorkSafe to warn employers and employees of the risk associated with dangerous machines.

According to the latest WorkSafe statistics:

• Six Victorian workers are maimed every day
• Seven workers suffer an amputation every month
• 11 workers suffer a laceration every week

In the past five years, almost 11,000 workers have suffered amputations, lacerations and other injuries caused by dangerous machines and common power tools. This has led to a $220 million bill for medical treatment, rehabilitation and income support during the same period.

“If a machine is used to mix, move or stamp, then it can cut, crush or amputate,” WorkSafe’s Health and Safety Operations general manager, Lisa Sturzenegger, said.

“They are the types of machines used across Victoria and are essential to many businesses but the risks must be controlled. The risks are well known and the solutions are cheap, effective and freely available.”

The billboards are targeted at machine-injury hotspots, including Thomastown, Laverton, Dandenong and Campbellfield, as more than half of the 11,000 injuries came out of workplaces in Victoria’s traditional manufacturing and logistics corridor around greater Melbourne.

Of the 11,000 injuries over the past five years, 71% occurred in manufacturing, construction, transport, warehousing and storage industries.

Over the next 12 months, inspectors will be ‘upping the ante’ on employers to control dangerous machines by ensuring they are properly guarded, have emergency controls in place and train and supervise their workers properly.

To find out more about how to make machines safe, visit the website.