Unsafe sites blitzed

Alex de Vos
The “enormous” number of Surf Coast employees working at heights without fall protection, constructing unsafe scaffolding and operating unguarded machinery has alarmed the state’s workplace safety watchdog.
WorkSafe spokesperson Michael Birt said he was “disappointed” with a November blitz to check on compliance with occupational health and safety laws at workplaces around the Surf Coast.
From a total of 150 inspections, Mr Birt said officers issued nine prohibition notices and 182 improvement notices ordering specific safety concerns to be addressed.
He said another 18 safety issues were fixed on-the-spot while inspectors were present.
He labelled the results “extraordinary”.
“Prohibition notices, similar to a yellow canary on a car, are for really high risk stuff and to get nine out of one program is an enormous amount – we often get none,” Mr Birt said.
“The number of improvement notices also indicates there’s a lot of problems down there.”
He said safety hazards ranged from keeping untidy workplaces and failing to provide a list of chemicals used, to “extreme risks” such as working at heights without fall protection and operating dangerous machinery.
“Most people don’t set out to do things that are dangerous or have dangerous workplaces they just get too busy and concentrate on other things,” he said.
“Then all of a sudden something goes wrong and your little fire becomes a big fire because you haven’t got a fire extinguisher that works or you’ve got dodgy electrical equipment.”
“One thing feeds another.”
He urged businesses to make a New Year’s resolution to address workplace safety concerns.
“People might not see them (hazards) as high profile things but cumulatively they’re important,” Mr Birt said.
“We want people on the Surf Coast to make a commitment not to do something in the future that they’ve been doing in the past, like working at heights without fall protection.
“Fix these problems before they become bigger problems.
“We will be coming back to check on the notices and we’ll be visiting more places next time.”