Workplace injury hotspot confronted

DANDENONG is among 10 workplace injury hotspots chosen for a graphic billboard campaign.
Greater Dandenong has the highest machine injury rate in Victoria, so WorkSafe has positioned a giant image of a man with his hand trapped in a mincer on the Princes Highway /South Gippsland Highway.
It’s part of a campaign to warn employers and employees of the risks associated with dangerous machines.
There were 780 workplace injury claims from Greater Dandenong – home to about 40 per cent of the state’s manufacturing industry – from July 2007 to June 2012 totalling $20,217,169.
More than half (466) happened in manufacturing and 105 in wholesale trade. Musculoskeletal injuries were the most common (232) followed by 185 “open wound” injuries, and there were 45 amputations.
WorkSafe statistics found six Victorian workers were maimed every day, seven suffered an amputation every month, and 11 suffered a laceration every week.
WorkSafe health and safety operations general manager Lisa Sturzenegger said the risks were well-known and the solutions were cheap, effective and freely available.
“Employers must get on the front foot by taking a preventative approach to identifying and controlling the risk of dangerous machines at their workplace,” she said.
“Workers need to ask questions and not take anything for granted.”
Over the next 12 months, WorkSafe inspectors will up the ante on employers by ensuring dangerous machines are properly guarded, there are emergency controls in place and workers are trained and supervised properly.