2001 Workplace Safe Awards - Winners
Overall winner of the 2001 Workplace Safe Awards
Cradle Coast Water
(L to R) Casey van Eysden of Cradle Coast Water, Dr Rob Walters of the WorkCover Tasmania Board, Premier Jim Bacon and Michael Higginson of Cradle Coast Water
Cradle Coast Water is a bulk water authority supplying treated water to councils for reticulation.
Cradle Coast Water’s training revolves around a training program developed in November each year in full consultation with employees.
The program developed for 2001 has allocated 11.06 training days for each employee, 5.5 days of which are allocated for training on elements of the integrated management system including a safety induction refresher, risk and hazard assessments and emergency response plans.
Training is identified in light of corrective action requests, complaints/incident reports, accident and incident reports, risk or hazard assessments and opportunities for improvement which are reviewed monthly by management.
The training program has empowered workers to be more self confident and work more independently - hence requiring less supervision - and has provided greater job satisfaction.
Best solution to a manual handling hazard
Gold Award: Calvary Health Care Tasmania, Hobart
(L to R) Awards MC Tim Ferguson with Sue Hargreaves, Jennifer O’Connor Cindy Edwards and Sally Faulkner of Calvary Health Care Tasmania
Calvary Health Care Tasmania is a health care facility incorporating three campuses in Southern Tasmania with about 930 employees.
Managing manual handling risks is recognised as a critical component of Calvary’s risk management program.
There was an identified need to initiate a ‘no lift’ manual handling policy and proactive manual handling program. During 1999 and 2000 a number of manual handling proposals and programs had been floated and partially implemented. In January, 2001 – following the development of the ‘no lift’ manual handling policy and its endorsement by the Calvary Health Care Tasmania executive – the implementation process began.
It included the appointment of a parttime manual handling co-ordinator, two hours paid training for all staff and the purchase of recommended manual handling equipment.
Nursing staff and hospital assistants were targeted as the first group of employees to receive training, as they comprised 75 per cent of all manual handling injuries within the organisation.
As at July, all nursing staff at the St John’s Campus had completed training. Three clinical departments at the Calvary Campus had also completed training and three were continuing.
Regular training days for hotel services staff had also commenced, with 40 employees having completed their training.
Since training commenced in April there have been 16 reported incidents but only one of those employees had received training. The cause of this incident has been reviewed and appropriate manual handling equipment introduced with relevant training to eliminate a recurrence of the event.
Best solution to a manual handling hazard
Silver Award: Cascade Brewery Company Pty Ltd, Hobart
(L to R) Workplace Standards Inspector John Kumpulainen with Pamela Lincolne and Max Burslem of Cascade Brewery Company
Cascade Brewery Company Pty Ltd, Australia’s oldest brewery, is located in Hobart.
The brewery introduced a new bulk detergent handling system within the brewing cleaning in place (CIP) system.
There was an ever present potential for injuries within the CIP system resulting from the manual handling of awkwardly shaped and heavy 200 litre drums and the likelihood of burns from chemical splashing.
While many improvements over recent years had reduced the risk of manual handling injuries it was decided to entirely eliminate the manual handling aspect of the activities required to implement the necessary cleaning regimes.
With the assistance of cleaning products and supplies company DiverseyLever (Australia) Pty Ltd, an automated system was introduced which eliminated the need for detergent drums to be handled manually. From its inception the project set a new benchmark for cooperation between management and employees and has improved morale with a significant change in work practices and standards being noticed.
Since the new automated system was commissioned in September last year, all manual handling injuries from the brewing CIP process have been totally eliminated, as have all accidents and injuries relating to the handling of caustic/acid detergent.
Best solution to a manual handling hazard
Bronze Award: North East Soldiers Memorial Hospital, Scottsdale
(L to R) The Premier of Tasmania, Jim Bacon presents the award to Tim Diprose of North East Soldiers Memorial Hospital
The North East Soldiers Memorial Hospital is a rural hospital and nursing home located at Scottsdale, about 50 km from Launceston.
A workplace health and safety assessment of the laundry at the hospital revealed that the existing practices for the manual handling of linen posed a hazard to the health and safety of workers.
Five separate manual lifts were required to get the dirty linen from the bed sites to the laundry trucks. Lifting and twisting motions represented a risk of back injuries. There was also the risk of entanglement and finger injuries as a result of the string ties used to secure the laundry bags and existing laundry carts were often overloaded. No provision was made for the storage of dirty linen with linen bags routinely piled on top of one another creating navigational difficulties and the risk of infection and contamination.
A solution was proposed by maintenance staff utilising commercial wheelie bins to replace older laundry carts and taking advantage of a commercially available wheelie bin lifter to eliminate the need for manual lifting.
The resulting improvements in health and safety have been demonstrated in many aspects of the laundry operation including the elimination of heavy lifting, odour containment and the reduced potential for contamination and infection.
Best solution to an identified workplace health and safety issue
Gold Award: Australian Hop Marketers Pty Ltd, Bushy Park
(L to R) Robin Oakley of Australian Hop Marketers, Premier Jim Bacon and Adrian Shaw of Australian Hop Marketers
Australian Hop Marketers’ Bushy Park Estates is one of four farms owned and operated by the company.
This award recognises Australian Hop Marketers’ initiatives in creating safer working environments on two fronts - working with elevated equipment and reducing the manual handling risk associated with the transfer of hop bales.
Three new work practices to create safer working conditions for elevated equipment were introduced:
- Height adjustable string and repair carts were designed to allow workers to safely repair trellis that supports the hop vines.
- A pole trailer, which carries and lifts poles into position for replacement, has been introduced thus eliminating the need for hop poles to be lifted manually or with a front-end loader frame.
- A tractor mounted ladder frame, which allows a worker to use both hands when working and avoids theossibility of a ladder slipping, as occurred with near fatal consequences previously, has also been introduced.
A de-stacker was also designed to transfer hop bales on pallets to a standing position on the floor, significantly reducing a major manual handling risk.
The hazard posed by transferring bales from pallets to the bale breaker in-feed area by purely manual means was readily apparent because of the effort needed to move the 115 kg bales.
The development of mechanical aids was inevitable and an engineering mechanism was devised which eliminated the bulk of the heavy handling hazard.
While the device has not had a large impact when considered in isolation, it has increased awareness of the potential for easing manual labour in arduous tasks by the intelligent application of mechanical aids.
Best solution to an identified workplace health and safety issue
Silver Award: Hobart Water, Glenorchy
(L to R) Premier Jim Bacon presents Silver to Lyn Hallam of Hobart Water
Hobart Water is a commercial venture owned by eight Southern councils, which is responsible for the collection, storage and treatment of bulk water.
The organisation eliminated a confined space and manual-handling hazard by redesigning the flow control devices and bypass lines which control the flow of water into Browns Hill Reservoir at Kingston.
Previously the flow control devices and bypass lines were located below ground in a confined space, which could only be accessed by removing a heavy concrete lid. There were other health and safety concerns including the high noise generated by the sharp bends in the pipe in a fully enclosed area.
Operational maintenance and technical staff, with the full support of Hobart Water management, developed a design solution to eliminate the confined space by identifying a method to raise the section of pipeline with the flow control valves and bypass devices above ground.
As well as removing confined space and manual handling hazards, the innovative solution has also reduced after hours operational costs, provided for remote operational monitoring, reduced maintenance down time and increased control capability.
Best solution to an identified workplace health and safety issue
Bronze Award: Master Plumbers’ Association of Tasmania, South Hobart
(L to R) Adrian Cowie of the Master Plumbers’ Association receives the award from Premier Jim Bacon
The members of the Master Plumbers’ Association of Tasmania – Roof Contractors Division initiated, promoted and assisted in the adoption in Tasmania of the first codes of practice - Working at Height in Commercial Construction and Managing the Risk of Falling in House Construction - approved by the Minister pursuant to the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995
.Working at height has been a high-risk work practice for many years and the codes were developed following an exhaustive consultation process with individuals who work in exposed environments and with various authorities in Australia and other parts of the world.
The initiative was an attempt to ensure that safety at work was a paramount consideration. In a very difficult environment the Roof Contractors Division recognised the urgency of providing better, safer and more acceptable workplaces.
As a result of the codes there has been an enormous shift in acceptable practice, attitude and culture of those involved in activities that are affected by working at height.
Best workplace health and safety management program
Gold Award: Neil Buckby Motors, Launceston
(L to R) Workplace Standards Inspectors Geoff Price and Jo Hendly with Max Ireland and Anne McLaren of Neil Buckby Motors and Danny Dougherty, Regional Manager North Workplace Standards Tasmania
Launceston-based Neil Buckby Motors is a motor vehicle retail and service company employing 30 people.
It sought to formalise a workplace safety standard to benefit all workers and other people associated with the business.
The company’s goal was to implement a formal standard in such a way that all workers had a clear understanding of the policies and procedures the business enforced to reduce the circumstances where injury may occur. The procedures are enforced during the induction phase and continue throughout the worker’s association with Neil Buckby Motors.
The standards are also implemented to ensure all clients and members of the public visiting the company’s premises are protected from the possibility of injury.
To assist the company achieve its objectives, it appointed an occupational health and safety officer and committee, reviewed all signage, undertook regular equipment checks, implemented a rigid system for the reporting of all potential areas of concern, employed a workplace safety officer to inspect the premises and produced a New Employee Induction Manual encompassing the company’s policy.
The end result is a policy, which is fully supported and embraced by all staff.
Best workplace health and safety management program
Silver Award: The Port of Devonport Corporation
(L to R) Premier Jim Bacon with Richard Barnard of the Port of Devonport
The Port of Devonport Corporation is astate-owned company, which administers the Devonport seaport and airport.
About three years ago a practical systems approach to occupational health andsafety was adopted.
The corporation’s OHS systems-based strategy covers numerous protocols and procedures in pre-employment screening, induction, equipment safety and maintenance, incident reporting/investigation and corrective actions, consultation and communication activities and awareness of key issues and cost control strategies associated with workers’ compensation/injury management.
It has resulted in a considerable reduction in the risks associated with running the organisation.
Transport Sector accident statistics provided by Workplace Standards Tasmania showed that in 1999-2000 the Port of Devonport Corporation was the best performing port in Tasmania and its overall performance was in line with the average for the entire transport sector. The Port of Devonport Corporation only recorded three lost-time accidents during the year.
Best workplace health and safety management program
Bronze Award: Cradle Coast Water
(L to R): Premier Jim Bacon and Casey van Eysden of Cradle Coast Water
Cradle Coast Water is a bulk water authority supplying treated water to councils for reticulation.
Its directors and management are committed to fixing problems before they become problems through the development and maintenance of a quality, environmental and occupational health and safety integrated management system (IMS).
In May 2001 its OHS Management System was accredited to AS/NZS 4801 by Quality Assurance Services.
Cradle Coast Water has identified hazard identification and risk assessment as the nucleus of its OHS component of the IMS. Previously, routine hazard identifications were rarely performed but are now carried out by workers as part of their day-to-day operations.
Risk assessments are now carried out for all activities.
The biggest improvement in the approach adopted by Cradle Coast Water has been in the reduction of accidents – from nine reported accidents and 44 lost days in 1999-2000 to three reported accidents and no lost days last financial year.
Best return to work program
Gold Award: Forestry Tasmania, Statewide
(L to R) John McDonald, David Mirk, Bob Knox and Kerry Casten of Forestry Tasmania
Forestry Tasmania first developed its innovative return to work program in 1994-95 and it was revised and modified in 1998.
It was developed in conjunction with a variety of stakeholders including employees, human resources manager, legal officer, workers compensation officer, service providers, the executive team and Board of Directors.
One of the features of the program is that it provides the same occupational rehabilitation and support services for injured employees whether or not their illness or injury arises out of a work related incident.
Initial contact with an injured worker is made within 24 hours of the injury/illness occurring and a return to work program is developed in conjunction with the injured worker, their doctor and the worker’s supervisor. By involving all three parties, Forestry Tasmania ensures that the nature of the injury sustained and the nature of the injured worker’s employment are taken into consideration during the design stage of the program.
Creative and lateral thinking is required at times to find alternative duties, or to modify existing ones, to best accommodate the employee’s injury.
Best return to work program
Silver Award: Calvary Health Care Tasmania, Hobart
(L to R) Premier Jim Bacon and Jennifer O’Connor of Calvary Health Care Tasmania
Calvary Health Care Tasmania is a health care facility incorporating three campuses in Southern Tasmania with about 930 employees. It is committed to the early and safe return to work of all employees injured or made ill by their work.
The need to provide systems to facilitate the early intervention and safe return to work of employees was recognised in October 1999 given that workers compensation premiums were well above an acceptable level.
The Calvary executive accepted an injury management program formula devised by the occupational health and safety team which was based on the premise that while prevention was the best way to reduce costs, effective management of work injuries had a dramatic effect on the recovery of a worker and the cost of the claim.
As a result of the implementation of a comprehensive Injury Prevention and Management Program, Calvary Health Care Tasmania has seen a significant reduction in the use of external rehabilitation providers, improvements in management and staff satisfaction in the injury management process and earlier and safe return to work for employees.
Importantly, the cost of workers compensation salary payments fell by $115,000 in the first year of implementation and an insurer reimbursement based on past performance is expected for the 2000-2001 year.
Best return to work program
Bronze Award: Department of Health and Human Services
(L to R) Premier Jim Bacon and Marjorie Sheedy of the Department of Health and Human Services
The Department of Health and Human Services provides health, housing and community services to all Tasmanians.
It implemented a comprehensive return to work program that involves all relevant parties such as the injured worker, their doctor and their supervisor.
The program ensures effective strategies are employed to achieve the best outcome for employees as well as ensuring the injured/ill employee is restored to their fullest potential.
The Department prides itself on having developed a system, which promotes an effective return to work program sensitive to the needs of all stakeholders.
Best induction program
Gold Award: Devonport City Council, Devonport
(L to R) Julie Fitzpatrick and David Jones of the Devonport City Council with the Gold Award
The Devonport City Council is a regional city council employing about 200 people on the North-West Coast.
To assist in achieving a safe working environment, all new employees are given an extensive induction/orientation on their first morning of employment.
The occupational health and safety component of this induction deals with general information in relation to obligations of council and employees under the Workplace Health and Safety Act and Regulations. A safety video - which explores topics such as risk management, personal protective equipment, handling hazardous materials, manual handling and fire safety – is also shown.
Following the induction/orientation a training questionnaire that asks specific questions about OHS is given to employees for completion.
The immediate surpervising officer also conducts area familiarisation.
The induction handbook, which accompanies this training, is seen as a growing document and is continually updated to reflect any changes/additions to the council’s organisational structure and/or policies and procedures.
Best induction program
Silver Award: Cradle Coast Water, Ulverstone
(L to R) The Premier of Tasmania Jim Bacon with Michael Higginson of Cradle Coast Water
Cradle Coast Water is a bulk water authority supplying treated water to councils for reticulation.
Cradle Coast Water developed a comprehensive induction program to fit its Integrated Management System. The program is subject to an annual review.
It has been established by employees using a hands-on approach thus giving them a sense of ownership over the induction program as well as the opportunity to learn new skills.
The program meets all the required criteria including legislative compliance, employer/employee responsibilities, OHS policies, risk assessment and hazard management and subsequent action.
An initial induction of employees occurs in their first week of employment and they are continually assessed over the following weeks. All workers are required to complete the TAFE OHS General Industry Induction.
Best induction program
Bronze Award: Central Coast Council, Ulverstone
Tony King of the Central Coast Council receives the award from Premier Jim Bacon
The Central Coast Council is centred on the North-West Coast towns of Penguin and Ulverstone and their surrounds and employs 180 people.
It recently completed a full safety induction program for all outdoor and indoor staff and elected representatives. The program was originally an adjunct to the general induction program but has taken on a much greater identity reflecting the council’s commitment to occupational health and safety issues within the working environment.
The program centres on an induction reference booklet and includes a review process involving one week and one month reviews to ensure a full understanding of all safety matters covered.
Importantly, it has been designed to include contractors and short-term visitors, such as work experience students, and is now an integral part of all tenders let by the council.
Best training program
Gold Award: Cradle Coast Water, Ulverstone
(L to R) Casey van Eysden of Cradle Coast Water, Dr Rob Walters of the WorkCover Tasmania Board, Premier Jim Bacon and Michael Higginson of Cradle Coast Water
Cradle Coast Water is a bulk water authority supplying treated water to councils for reticulation.
Cradle Coast Water’s training revolves around a training program developed in November each year in full consultation with employees.
The program developed for 2001 has allocated 11.06 training days for each employee, 5.5 days of which are allocated for training on elements of the integrated management system including a safety induction refresher, risk and hazard assessments and emergency response plans.
Training is identified in light of corrective action requests, complaints/incident reports, accident and incident reports, risk or hazard assessments and opportunities for improvement which are reviewed monthly by management.
The training program has empowered workers to be more self confident and work more independently - hence requiring less supervision - and has provided greater job satisfaction.
Best training program
Silver Award: Strathcare, Glenorchy
(L to R) Premier Jim Bacon presents a Silver Award to Anne Priest of Strathcare
Strathcare operates aged-care residential services and facilities in both the South and North-West regions.
Since 1997 Strathcare has committed itself to an extensive occupational health and safety training program, which has led to a $160,000 reduction alone in workers compensation premium costs.
Due to the customised nature of training, Strathcare management has complete ownership of its workplace health and safety program and has developed its own training courses to systematically manage its safety responsibility.
Site managers have developed and routinely deliver a two-day induction training course for all new employees.
Best training program
Bronze Award: Stornoway Maintenance Pty Ltd, Bridgewater
(L to R) Premier Jim Bacon presenting the award to Chris Cartledge of Stornoway Maintenance
Stornoway Maintenance is a member of the Stornoway Contracting Division, one of Australia’s emerging small to medium sized civil contracting and resource management organisations.
Upon appointment, staff undergo a thorough induction process at three levels – level one for suppliers and contractors with little site exposure, level two for regular subcontractors and visitors to the site and level three which is a detailed and intense induction for permanent employees.
The induction is supplemented by an expanded and mandatory training program fashioned from the risk assessment. The risk assessment ensures that the major hazards workers face are identified and control measures put in place.
Ongoing refresher courses and upskilling are conducted throughout the employee’s tenure with the company.
Best workplace health and safety initiative in small business
Gold Award: Pages Espresso Bar and Takeaways, Launceston
(L to R) Workplace Standards Inspectors Terry Hurley, Geoff Price, Phillip Riley and Workplace Standards Regional Manager North, Danny Dougherty with Barry and Sharon Page (front) of Pages Espresso Bar and Takeaways
Pages Espresso Bar and Takeaways, which employs 15 people in Launceston, identified existing hazards within the business and developed an occupational health and safety manual.
The manual has since been effectively incorporated into the workplace and managed to ensure its guidelines are followed.
It was also produced in full consultation with staff to ensure it accurately reflected their concerns.
The owners have also spent a substantial amount of money to ensure the premises are as safe as possible.
With the safety manual in place, and the staff fully familiar with it, OHS is now focused on ensuring staff do not become complacent and that any new hazards are quickly identified and fixed.
Best workplace health and safety initiative in small business
Silver Award: KD Barker Logging, Ouse
(L to R) Nannett and Kerry Barker of KD Barker Logging
KD Barker Logging is a small timber harvesting business, which operates in a high-risk industry.
The day-to-day tasks involved in extracting timber can result in accidents or incidents, which are costly to both employers and workers.
The business has developed a system to assist in assessing the risk associated with hazards identified in its workplace.
The risk management manual it has developed combined the company’s own knowledge with that of its workers, principal employer, Workplace Standards Tasmania, the Tasmanian Logging Association, the Hollybank Forestry Training Centre and the union movement.
Best workplace health and safety initiative in small business
Bronze Award: TasTrans Logistics, West Launceston
(L to R) Premier Jim Bacon presents Bronze to Steve Brown of TasTrans Logistics
TasTrans Logistics’ core business is the transportation of wool to interstate wool dumps and overseas destinations.
It became aware of a workplace hazard associated with tarping trailers 4.3 m off the ground. There was a risk of a worker slipping and falling when removing the tarpaulin from the safety cage and unrolling it the length of the trailer.
After a meeting between management and workers it was agreed that workers would wear a safety harness with a builtin shock absorber which was attached to a static cable running through the company’s building. This meant that if a worker slipped while securing the tarpaulin he could not fall to the ground.
This has improved the safety of workers and a similar device has been installed at Roberts Wool, at Evandale.