SafeWork NSW prioritises machine safety with compliance visits
Inspectors from SafeWork NSW have visited manufacturers throughout the Sydney metropolitan areas to ensure machine safety, which is reportedly a leading cause of workplace fatalities and injuries in the sector. SafeWork Executive Director (Compliance and Dispute Resolution) Matt Press said that the post-COVID rebirth of manufacturing in Australia prompted the reminder to businesses to consider safety before operating, maintaining and cleaning machinery. According to Press, 65% of all injuries resulting in a major workers compensation claim involved machinery between 2017 and 2021, with data indicating that young, labour hire and culturally and linguistically diverse workers are at greater risk.
“Operating machinery is a high-risk activity. Machines, especially those with moving parts, are a hazard to operators and other workers who can be caught in the machine, struck or hit by ejected machine parts. Sadly, on 8 July this year, a man in his 20s was killed operating machinery at a recycling centre in Riverstone in a matter being investigated by SafeWork,” Press said.
The SafeWork Inspectors will ensure compliance with safety regulations and educate business owners on what to do to protect vulnerable workers. Press said that workplaces must ensure that machines cannot be restarted during cleaning and maintenance, that there is regular monitoring and consulting with workers to ensure they know how to operate machines safely and that they are using appropriate safeguards. “SafeWork wants businesses to embed a culture of machine safety and will take appropriate regulatory action if unsafe work practices are identified,” Press said.
According to the Department of Customer Service NSW, the main reasons why people are killed or seriously injured when operating machines include removing a blockage or jam while the machine is still running; cleaning or maintaining a machine without appropriate safeguards or lockout tagout procedures; and workers not having a thorough understanding of operating procedures.
SafeWork NSW has developed a machine safety pack, which can be accessed here, with examples of manufacturing workplace incidents (with images) available here.
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