Mobile plant movement under inspection

An inspection program will soon look at safety issues over mobile plant and the movement of mobile plant in retail and transport workplaces in Perth, as well as in regional areas of Western Australia, until June 2017.

WorkSafe WA Director Joe Attard said the initiative was prompted by previous inspection programs that looked at mobile plant in other industries, which resulted in a high number of improvement and prohibition notices.

“The decision was made to expand our attention on mobile plant into workplaces in further areas. An earlier program, conducted during the 2014–15 financial year and focusing on motor vehicle repair workplaces, saw the issue of more than 1300 improvement and prohibition notices, a large number relating to vehicle hoists and traffic management,” said Attard.

“We’re particularly concerned about spaces in which pedestrians and vehicles interact, where strict rules need to be in place to ensure the work environment is kept as safe as possible.”

WorkSafe issued a warning last September reminding employers to ensure safe systems of work were in place after a number of serious and fatal incidents involving vehicles and people in the preceding months.

The inspection program will therefore look at areas such as machinery guarding, safe movement of vehicles, forklifts, trolleys, storage racking and shelving, order picking vehicles, loading docks safety, vehicle hoists and isolation procedures.

Inspectors will also look at manual tasks, falls from height, hazardous substances and slips, trips and falls.

“This program is part of a continuing series of proactive inspection programs looking at safety issues in a wide range of industries, activities and geographical locations,” said Attard.

“The primary objective is to help employers identify risks to the safety and health of workers and provide them with information on how to comply with workplace safety laws.

“Employer associations have been notified of the inspection program, so we anticipate that employers will be aware of what will be required if an inspector visits.”

Further information on workplace safety and health can be obtained by contacting WorkSafe on 1300 307 877 or visiting www.worksafe.wa.gov.au.

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