Shocking safety result for Scoresby businesses

WorkSafe inspectors visited 117 businesses in Scoresby as part of WorkSafe’s ‘Safer Work Zones’ campaign in May. The campaign aims to help small businesses improve health and safety and return to work. Many of these businesses were advised in advance that inspectors would be in the area.

The disappointing results arose from failing to observe basic safety rules. The 251 safety issues included:

• One prohibition notice that ordered a business to stop using an elevated work platform where the safety gate didn’t close properly and workers were at risk of falling off the platform.
• 191 improvement notices requiring businesses to fix safety issues such as replacing guards on machines, maintaining forklifts, eliminating hazardous manual handling, removing trip hazards and preventing falls from mezzanine floors.
• 59 safety issues that were fixed on the spot, including appropriately restraining gas cylinders, removing keys from forklifts when not in use and keeping up-to-date records of chemicals.

WorkSafe’s Executive Director, John Merritt, said: “It’s good that nearly 60 issues were fixed on the spot and that more will be fixed because of WorkSafe’s notices, but finding more than 250 safety issues in five days is a dreadful reflection on one suburb. Identifying this many issues suggests too many Scoresby businesses aren’t systematically managing their health and safety to identify and fix problems.

“If people are waiting for someone to be hurt or killed before they take safety seriously, WorkSafe will use its legal powers. Plenty of people take that approach and end up telling it to judges.

“If you’re waiting for WorkSafe to tell you what to do, you’re avoiding your responsibilities and putting lives at risk. It’s not just the high-profile deaths you should be worried about but dreadful burns, paraplegia and brain damage.”

WorkSafe is concerned that 22 breaches to the Accident Compensation Act were also identified during the campaign. In some cases, employers had not kept registers of injuries or displayed information about what people should do if they were hurt. Two businesses were also found to have had insufficient WorkSafe injury insurance policies.