Safety in the spotlight at NMW 2013

This year’s National Manufacturing Week (7-10 May, Melbourne) will have a strong safety focus, at least in part because of increased scrutiny on OHS issues following the federal government’s recently launched Australian Work Health and Safety Strategy 2012-2022[1].

Co-located with Austech, National Manufacturing Week (NMW) will bring together more than 300 leading manufacturers, distributors and suppliers, with ‘safety’ a common theme across the exhibition at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Paul Baker, exhibition director of NMW 2013, comments, “Business is well aware that a safe, healthy workplace is both a responsibility and an opportunity to boost longer-term productivity.

“However, the spotlight is currently trained on OH&S, following the release of the federal government’s Health & Safety Strategy 2012-2022, which aims at reducing worker fatalities due to injury by at least 20% by 2022, as well as reducing the incidence of injury.

“The strategy document names manufacturing as a priority area for action - setting the expectation that manufacturers will need to identify and adopt new ways to boost their workplace safety.

“With this in mind, it’s great to see that NMW 2013 will showcase a significant number of products and services that target workplace safety directly, or that have ‘safety’ as a key feature of operations.

“For instance, NMW’s dedicated Health and Safety Product Zone will feature solutions that directly target worker health - such as workplace safety training and protective gear - as well as products that individuals can invest in to boost their own health,” Baker said.

“Across the broader exhibition, a large number of exhibitors are bringing products that feature improved safety. For instance, we will have welding equipment featuring automatic collision detection, chemical-free industrial cleaning that removes harmful solvents from the cleaning process, and precision clamping that reduces the risk of accidents by holding jobs firmly in place.”

In all, Baker concludes, the event will provide products and services for OHS professionals who are looking for safety-specific gear, as well as safer ways to carry out their existing processes.

In addition he says, “Beyond the new products and services, NMW also provides a great opportunity to network and learn new ideas.

“The last time that NMW was held in Melbourne - in 2011 - more than 10,000 industry professionals visited the show, and we are expecting a similarly strong attendance in 2013.

“I would encourage companies who are considering exhibiting to contact the NMW team to confirm their participation by visiting the website, or emailing Guy Freebody as soon as possible.”