WorkCover NSW launches road freight industry safety project

After being identified as one of the state’s highest risk industries, WorkCover NSW has commenced a project to reduce workplace injuries and illnesses and improve injury management in the road freight transport industry. The project is part of WorkCover’s new flagship work health and safety program, 10/5/5, which involves working with the NSW community to improve safety in the state’s 10 highest risk industries.

In the past three years there were 5512 claims for injuries and illness in the road freight transport industry at a cost of $157m, the majority involving motor vehicle accidents, manual handling and falls. This includes 29 fatalities. WorkCover has made it a priority to develop, in partnership with industry, new approaches to improve safety during 2012.

As part of the project, WorkCover will visit 30 businesses, including both road freight transport companies and those who use their services in metropolitan Sydney, the South East and North Coast, to compare issues identified by WorkCover with what employers and drivers are experiencing as well as discuss possible barriers to improving safety.

The General Manager of WorkCover’s Work Health and Safety Division, John Watson, said the project aimed to assist employers and workers to make their workplaces more productive, healthy and safe.

“The road freight transport industry includes bulk freight, long-distance and short-distance trucking, all of which operate in a complex industry structure,” Watson said.

“It includes more than 36,000 workers involved in a variety of tasks ranging from local parcel delivery through to intrastate transfer of retail and wholesale goods as well as interstate movement of bulk goods and containers.

“The majority of employers are small businesses while some larger employers engage independent subcontractors to transport goods while others operate their own fleet and employ their own drivers.

“These complex contractual relationships and extensive outsourcing arrangements result in a number of parties having an impact on safety, and through this project WorkCover aims to understand and address the safety issues related to each of them.

“While WorkCover and industry have implemented some outstanding safety programs in the past, now we need to delve deeper and identify ways to improve safety in the industry so it can be among the state’s safest rather than highest risk.” Watson said feedback from the visits will help identify and develop safety programs that can reduce injuries and illnesses within the industry.

“Every worker wants to return home safely at the end of the working day and WorkCover recognises that the support of employers and workers is essential to developing effective work health and safety solutions,” he said.

“The 10/5/5 program is about working with employers to develop relevant and effective work health and safety improvements and sustainable injury management, return to work and workers compensation outcomes.”