Inspectors set sights high on Echuca and Moama

Inspectors from the Victorian WorkCover Authority and WorkCover NSW will visit worksites from Monday to talk to employers and employees about workplace safety. The visits are part of the VWA’s Cross Border project, aimed at educating employers and workers about construction site safety requirements on each side of the border.

VWA Regional Operations Manager Trevor Butler said the construction industry was over-represented with fall-related workplace deaths and injuries.

“Of more than 80 serious injury claims in the construction industry in the Campaspe region over the past five years, more than 15% were the result of falling from heights,” Butler said.

“In recent years, the industry has experienced a reduction in serious injuries from falls; however, it is important for employers to continue to be vigilant in identifying and controlling the risks.

“Working from ladders, working on roofs, incomplete scaffold and falling into stairway voids are some of the most common work practices which can lead to falls from height.”

Butler said there were three key elements to reducing risks associated with working at heights, including:

1. Planning the work to be completed and developing safe work method statements (SWMS).
2. Implementing fall protection measures such as guard railing and scaffolding.
3. Supervising the work.

“Work at heights can be performed safely with appropriate planning and the right safety controls in place,” he said.

The construction site visits next week are part of a three-year project by the two state health and safety regulators, which aims to alleviate confusion about construction safety requirements for companies that work on each side of the Victoria-NSW border.

Peter Dunphy, acting general manager of WorkCover NSW’s Work Health and Safety Division, said it was critical that construction workers were on the same page regarding risks and controls, regardless of which side of the border they were working on.

Dunphy said each state has the same or similar requirements for high-risk work licences and plant operator competencies, and accepts the other state’s safe work method statements and management plans.

House construction is one of the highest risk industries in NSW. “In the two years to July 2012 there were 1312 workers compensation claims at a cost of $22 million to the NSW workers compensation scheme,” Dunphy said.

The Cross Border project began in June last year and has so far helped more than 200 businesses understand and improve the health and safety of their workplace.

Cross Border Echuca/Moama will take place from 17-21 November 2014. A trade information breakfast is being held on 14 November at Dahlsens Echuca from 7 am to provide more information about the project.

In order to prepare for next week’s visit, construction employers and workers are encouraged to pick up an inspection checklist from all major hardware stores.