Winery safety promoted in new SafeWork guide

A new safety guide for the wine industry has been published by SafeWork NSW and the NSW Industry Association.

The publication, entitled ‘Guide to managing risks in wineries’, offers practical guidance on how businesses can best manage work health and safety in wineries.

“Wineries need effective safety controls due to the high-risk tasks that are undertaken, including confined space work, hot work, forklift operations and the handling and storage of hazardous chemicals, including ethanol,” SafeWork NSW Group Director, Regional Operations and Sector Initiatives Tony Williams said.

“The importance of controlling these risks is highlighted by the 1206 reported employment injuries during the last five years, at a cost of $15 million to the NSW Workers Compensation System.”

The most common injuries include trips, slips and falls, and musculoskeletal injuries from hazardous manual tasks.

The guide is relevant to everyone working in a winery, including wine production, bottling, packaging, storage, sales and distribution. It should be read in conjunction with other codes of practice relevant to wine production.

“The New South Wales Wine Industry Association recognises that work health and safety is the responsibility of each and every one of us, and is pleased to have been working in partnership with SafeWork to pursue a common aim to minimise the incidence of serious workplace injury,” NSW Wine Industry Association President Tom Ward said.

The guide was launched at Tyrell’s Winery in the Hunter Valley and can be found on the SafeWork NSW website.