WorkSafe NZ highlights the importance of contractor management

WorkSafe NZ highlights the importance of contractor management and detailed job planning. 

A worker was tasked with removing an elevated walkway at a quarry operation when he fell four metres to the ground.

The incident occurred when he was removing bolts that secured the walkway to the structure. The walkway was partly held by a crane, which he assumed there was enough structural integrity to continue work.

This incident highlights the importance of managing contractors and JSEA documentation.

The JSEA lacked critical steps to complete the work and did not include the critical controls for preventing falling objects or workers when working at height.

Advice from WorkSafe states:

• Operators should ensure that all work be effectively risk assessed with input from workers, and appropriately detailed JSEA's are provided to workers to undertake work safely.
• There should be a competent person to approve the actual implementation of JSEA for any safety-critical work.
• Any structure should be considered unstable after the removal of any bolts or brace unless a suitably qualified person confirms the integrity.

To view the alert, head to the WorkSafe NZ website.

New grants are available for farm safety. 

The Australian Government has opened applications for up to $1.6 million in grants that improve farm safety across Australia.

Minister for Agriculture, Drought and Emergency Management David Littleproud said, "increasing safety awareness and training to save lives on farms is a critical national issue."

These grants will go to projects that deliver well-designed and adaptable safety training and education. They will change the course for multiple generations of farmers.

Australian farmers only make up 2.6 per cent of Australia's workforce, but they count for a fifth of workplace fatalities, having 58 deaths on farms in 2019.

Applications for the new grant close on 28 July 2021; for information on applying, head here.

To read more about this grant, head to the Farming Ahead website.