WorkSafe blitz

WORKSAFE Victoria will begin a state-wide inspection campaign targeting sprains and strains next month.
WorkSafe said it would issue improvement and prohibition notices where safety issues were found.
In some cases, it said, prosecutions may follow where serious safety breaches were identified.
WorkSafe executive director John Merritt said employers needed to do more to improve safety.
“Preventing injuries from manual lifting and slips, trips and falls of less than two metres are the focus of this campaign,” he said.
“These injuries accounted for more than 60 per cent of all workplace injury insurance claims in 2007/08.”
“Despite working with and supporting industry for more than a decade to address these risks, WorkSafe’s message does not appear to be getting through.”
Technological solutions such as robotics and the bulk supply of raw materials are helping eliminate manual lifting in manufacturing.
In the health and aged care sectors, patient-lifting devices have had a significant impact on these injuries.
Mr Merritt said many employers did not seem to realise that affordable mechanical solutions were readily available and that costs of between $1000 and $3000 were no longer prohibitive.
Injuries from slips, trips and falls where workers were using unsafe ladders or climbing on furniture to reach and handle objects located above shoulder height were of particular concern.
“Mobile scissor lift work platforms or mobile, stable steps with a work platform and handrails such as we see in supermarkets, are readily available.