SafeWork NSW inspectors have begun inspecting manufacturing firms in Sydney to ensure machine safety, the government agency said Wednesday.
Matt Press, executive director for compliance and dispute resolution at SafeWork, said the inspection comes as a timely reminder to businesses to consider safety before launching their operation, maintenance, and clean machinery as Australia’s manufacturing sector recovers post-COVID.
“Operating machinery is a high-risk activity. Machines, especially those with moving parts, are a hazard to operators and other workers who can be caught in the machine, struck, or hit by ejected machine parts,” Press said in a statement.
Sixty-five per cent of all injuries resulting in a major workers compensation claim involved machinery from 2017 to 2021, the SafeWork director noted. This data indicates that young, labour hire, and culturally and linguistically diverse workers are at greater risk, Press added.
“SafeWork Inspectors will be not only ensuring compliance with safety regulations but educating business owners on what to do to protect vulnerable workers.”
“Workplaces need to be ensuring machines cannot be restarted during cleaning and maintenance, that there is regularly monitoring and consulting with workers to ensure they know how to operate machines safely, and they are using appropriate safeguards.”
According to SafeWork, the main reason why people are killed or seriously injured when operating machinery include:
- removing a blockage or jam while the machine is still running;
- cleaning or maintaining a machine without appropriate safeguards or lock out tag out procedures, and
- workers unaware or not having a thorough understanding of operating procedures.
“SafeWork wants businesses to embed a culture of machine safety and will take appropriate regulatory action if unsafe work practices are identified,” Press said.
On 8 July, a man in his 20s was killed operating machinery at a recycling centre in Riverstone. The matter is still being investigated by SafeWork.
