Safety blitz heads north

The housing construction industry in Melbourne’s northern suburbs has been warned to make sure their sites and work practices are up to scratch ahead of a safety blitz next month.

WorkSafe inspectors will visit the outer northern suburbs in May as part of Operation SafeSite, a 12-month blitz on health and safety compliance on construction sites across the state.

WorkSafe Chief Executive Denise Cosgrove said inspectors would target basic safety issues as well as high-risk construction work, fall protection, site supervision and safe work method statements.

“This is a timely opportunity for builders and subcontractors in the northern suburbs to reassess what controls they have in place to manage hazards on construction sites,” she said.

“The good news is that proper site supervision, planning and housekeeping are just some of the simple steps that can reduce the risk of an injury and can make a real difference.”

Cosgrove said while Victorian businesses had taken great steps to improve workplace safety, more needed to be done.

“While inspectors are there to help, ultimately safety on a site is the responsibility of every manager and worker there. Everyone has a role to play,” she said.

The latest blitz comes as WorkSafe launched a six-week campaign aimed at getting tradies and other construction site workers to talk about safety.

It follows the release of new WorkSafe statistics that revealed 10 tradies are injured badly enough every day in Victoria to make a compensation claim.

The campaign - called the Top Tradie Cup - tests tradies on their football and safety knowledge and is designed specifically for smartphones to make it easy for construction workers to compete and discuss safety on site.

Weekly prizes are up for grabs, including a grand prize at the end of the competition.

For further information on how to make construction sites safe, please visit www.worksafe.vic.gov.au/construction. To take part in the Top Tradie Cup, visit: www.toptradie.com.au.