National campaign targets road worker safety

The Heads of Workplace Safety Authorities (HWSA) recently announced a new campaign to improve safety for those working on or near public roads.

HWSA Chair John Watson said the targeted compliance campaign will provide jurisdictions with an understanding of the current level of work health and safety compliance on roadside worksites.

“The WorkCover NSW-led initiative has been designed to address safety issues associated with working on or near roads and raise awareness of practical risk controls,” he said. “The national compliance campaign has been developed in response to series of incidents across Australia over the past 18 months that have seen five workers die and 10 seriously injured while undertaking work on public roads.

“Working on roads is an extremely dangerous activity and requires the management of multiple and fluctuating hazards.

“Factors such as high volumes of traffic, inadequate signage, poor traffic management and the use of powered mobile plant pose a high operational risk.

“In the past two years in New South Wales more than 300 notices have been issued to improve traffic management issues on roadside construction sites.

“It is important to ensure there is no possibility of a breakdown in risk management systems on hazardous sites and the visits will reinforce this.”

The campaign, to commence in March, will see workplace safety inspectors from across the nation visit more than 260 roadside worksites. Between March and May inspectors will monitor employers and site controllers to determine if adequate risk management and worker consultation systems are in place.

Improving safety when working on or near roads should involve:

• Effective traffic management systems to reduce the interaction of plant and personnel;
• Clear traffic signaling and adequate signage;
• Placement of appropriate barriers that meet relevant safety standards;
• Training and induction in site-specific traffic management strategies; and
• Audible warning devices when plant is operating in reverse.

“This campaign sees the states adopt a harmonised focus in the lead-up to the rollout of nationally consistent work health and safety laws,” Watson added.

Guidance material including safety Codes of Practices is available from individual workplace safety jurisdictions. Australian Standards in relation to road safety are available from www.saiglobal.com.