Work Place Safety

rapidxr6 · 22-02-2006, 11:48 PM

How would you rate the safety at your work place. poor average or excellent.
How often do you see breaches of saftey in your work place that could have the ability to take a life.
And what is the unsafest thing you have seen someone do at work.
Would you rate yourself as a Safe Worker?

YES YES i have a few gripes to get off me chest... so bear with me AFF'ers :nutsycuck

OK in the past week at work i have witnessed 3 counts of isolation breach (instant dismassal) & 3 counts of safety guideline breach (immediate supension until investigation outcome).
One could have resulted in a fatal crushing injury, 2 others invloving high speed bandsaws < need i say more.
The following 3 were 2 contractors and a maintenence organiser who were lifting a pieces of new equipment with 30 tn cranes atop of big chip bins, the contractor riggers and the organiser were postioned DIRECTLY under the load being lifted, on 2 accounts. Now.... how friggin stupid is that!! Blatantly unSAFE..!!..
I myself have witnessed a death in a workplace, there a new maintence employee was crushed to death because he was not being shown the correct plant isolation procedure, the machine started up and sqaushed him like an ant. I don't ever wish to see anything like this again, i still wonder to this day WHY do i stayed in this industry.
Also...this is a shocka..last night on arvo shift thre was a drunken and drugged out local that wandered into the logyard, no shirt, just shorts and thongs and stood in the middle of the yard. The young Grab driver didn't see him, was warned to STOP QUICK STOP over the radio by a log truck driver who was waiting to be unloaded..So he stopped...quickly...with that the said local placed his can of VB on the beak of the grab and leant his other arm on it. What do's that tell you... the driver stopped just a couple of feet from him!!
Was told it took a lot to get him off site, with him laying down along side forklifts and trying to break away from the poor workers that had to deal with his BS attempting to get him off the site.
Have i made the shocka of the week?

Chatted to one of the managers about it this morning and he is quite perplexed and can't believe it happened, in absolute awe and that steps are going to have to be put into place to deal with situations as such, shut the plant down, ring the supervisors and ring the police asap.
There is a strong ethos to safety in my workplace it just that a lot of the employees disregard their own safety with a "she'll be right attitude" endangering themselves in a multitude of situations and blatantly on a regualr occurance.
Diassapointed am i...yes very..
I am waiting to go to the funeral of a fellow worker, who i now well, i just wonder ........ who will it be?

"WORK SAFE, BE SAFE, THINK SAFE"

pauljh74 · 23-02-2006, 12:48 AM

I'd rate the transport depot I work at pretty average. They only want to take action that doesn't cost money. So they fiddle with procedures making my job harder and not much safer. They installed an extendable conveyor to aid the unloading of semi trailers, but it's too short and too close to the floor conveyor for the amount of freight being sorted off the extendable conveyor. Our system doesn't allow us to throw the freight just anywhere on the main conveyor, so we need to hold it until the right section comes along - there isn't the room for it and it encourages twisting combined with lifting as there's insufficient space for proper lifting

deesun · 23-02-2006, 05:47 PM

I work for a large company who really didn't give a rats about safety. Then a few years ago they decided to self insure,geez didn't that get their attention. EVERYTHING these days is safety orientated. Everyone signs or at least sights something about safety on a weekly basis. Every section has a book to check daily,every site has a full time safety officer who's job is 75% about safety on the site. Of course having come from a dont give a rats attitude there are plenty of people within the organisation who are still sceptical, and it will be these people who ignore the safety rules and get hurt but as the newer employees come thruogh then attitudes will change. Keep fighting for your fellow workers safety RAPIDXR6 and when someone questions your attitude then say I'v already been to one persons funeral I don't want to go to another. ONYA mate.

Feathers · 23-02-2006, 06:48 PM

We had Workcover inspectors in our store today.
Our aircon doesn't work, or what we do have isn't adequate for the store size.
Last week we noticed the Easter chocolate display had melted and we had to write off $24,000 of stock. Temperature was recorded at 27.4 degrees.
I was stuck in that aisle on Monday, and after about 40 mins thought I was going to pass out or throw up.
There is a complete new aircon installation coming in winter ($250,000), so we have to wait.

Other than that we've had a few people get a couple of nasty injuries, but it was their own stupidity that did it. Climbing up things they knew they shouldn't...

I'm on the OH&S team (not that I wanted to be), and every month when we have a meeting about it, we have to send in an email to head office.
This month we've lost the checklist, so we sent the email anyway.
We'll look for the checklist later, and make it up. That was the decision of the SSM, 3rd in charge of the store, and it's not the first time.

Now before you all jump up and down, it's dodgy I know. It's just hard finding anyone in the store who actually cares. I don't have time to wander around and look at stuff, and we never have time for meetings. There is also the fact that I didn't want to do it in the first place, so I really don't care.

I don't see why the company should get the blame because you were dumb enough to climb up the side of the pallet racking (too lazy to get the ladder) and then slashed your hand open.

Obviously if it's someone getting hurt by something that wasn't their own fault, then ok thats different.

So I'm gonna go with saying our OH & S is pretty poor.

347_XR8 · 23-02-2006, 09:05 PM

I would say my workplace safety is great. Might bne something to do with working with steal, forklifts and heavy machinery. also the threat of anyone not being safe will be fired on the spot.
We do breach safety, nearly everyday. This is mainly due to it being faster (due to machines having to keep working) and easyier. Yeah i know what ya's are thinking, we shouldn't do that but we do.
We tend to look after each other due to the fact that alot of people do 12 shifts, and what not.
Safety boot, safty glasses, gloves, leather aprons, safety guards with "shut off" sensors you name it, we got it.
And no i wont tell ya were i work

MoreHPformyXR6 · 23-02-2006, 09:10 PM

I work in a large citi office 250 plus employees & our workplace saftey is excellent. We have an OH&S rep & a couple of deputys. So from a saftey point of view im pretty lucky.

MITCHAY · 23-02-2006, 09:24 PM

I can't believe one of the shops I work at hasn't been closed down. There is mould on the roof, and this stuff called 'mud' which is dirt, sweat, and basically everything out of the drycleaning machine.

Rubbish everywhere usually. Very messy generally. I got the s**ts the other day and attempted to clean it up, but it was still pretty ordinary.

deesun · 23-02-2006, 11:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Feathers

We had Workcover inspectors in our store today.
Our aircon doesn't work, or what we do have isn't adequate for the store size.
Last week we noticed the Easter chocolate display had melted and we had to write off $24,000 of stock. Temperature was recorded at 27.4 degrees.
I was stuck in that aisle on Monday, and after about 40 mins thought I was going to pass out or throw up.
There is a complete new aircon installation coming in winter ($250,000), so we have to wait.

Other than that we've had a few people get a couple of nasty injuries, but it was their own stupidity that did it. Climbing up things they knew they shouldn't...

I'm on the OH&S team (not that I wanted to be), and every month when we have a meeting about it, we have to send in an email to head office.
This month we've lost the checklist, so we sent the email anyway.
We'll look for the checklist later, and make it up. That was the decision of the SSM, 3rd in charge of the store, and it's not the first time.

Now before you all jump up and down, it's dodgy I know. It's just hard finding anyone in the store who actually cares. I don't have time to wander around and look at stuff, and we never have time for meetings. There is also the fact that I didn't want to do it in the first place, so I really don't care.

I don't see why the company should get the blame because you were dumb enough to climb up the side of the pallet racking (too lazy to get the ladder) and then slashed your hand open.

Obviously if it's someone getting hurt by something that wasn't their own fault, then ok thats different.

So I'm gonna go with saying our OH & S is pretty poor.

I hope for your sake that your company, WW, becomes like my company, C , and self insures and breeds a whole new culture in safety. I know some things will seem ridiculous but in the end less people get hurt no matter whos fault it is. Our company was the same as yours, workers felt they would get into trouble if they took longer to do things if they got the ladder,it doesn't happen. The meetings were like yours a shambles and with no time, they found time. Safety was allocated to someone who just thought it was another chore, it was given to someone as THEIR JOB and everything else came second. The minutes arent lost at head office they are sent firstly to the area manager and if not she wants to know why not. Safety has gone from an obscure thought to almost a first thought in a short time. There are safety reminders every where. Its not uncommon for stores to now go 6-12 months without a lost time injury. Finally people are getting the message. Yes many accidents are some peoples own stupidity but they often feel pressured to work faster or stay somewhere they don't want to for too long,we still get our work done and we do it safer.

MO · 23-02-2006, 11:51 PM

If you follow the OH&S rules YOU cannot be blamed for what goes wrong...ie if it takes you 2mins longer to do a job so be it.

If any of you get flak from bosses who want to shortcut get onto your union and you all should be members of your respective unions.

deesun · 23-02-2006, 11:57 PM

Many times it is the impression given not nessesarily the reality. A supirior can give the impression of you not going quick enough without actually saying so. I dont condone it but I have seen and felt it.

gtfpv · 23-02-2006, 11:57 PM

my company is very big on safety . you have to do everything by the book so much so that the job is near imposible to do safely.
its not cause they care about people though it is so when something goes wrong they cane blame the employee . this keeps insurance costs way down . and they dont get held accountable . on the other hand they are spending millions on safety procedures world wide. because the last fatality . the ceo was told to clean up or go straight to gaol.
solution . make all the risk . the employeees. introduce a productivity bonus ( to tempt people to ignore safety ) get as much contractors to do the job as possible. and outsource most all work from overseas .
the next step will be foreign workers coming here not knowing anything about safety with fear of losing thier job breaking all the rules injuring and dyeing on the job at thier own expense.
sorry to sound pessimistic but this is actually happening already.

MO · 24-02-2006, 12:08 AM

gtfpv....unfortunately you are so close to the truth....however most of our manufacturing and servicing etc are now being outsourced to China,Singapore,Taiwan etc...why because the labour is cheaper and that leaves so many of our ppl out of work and company profits through the roof.

starkersEB · 24-02-2006, 12:28 AM

I work in a winery so we have to be pretty safety concious, seeing as we have chemicals for cleaning which will burn the hell out of you, tanks full of alcohol (and you dont float in booze) and if we have fermenting grapes there is a lot of C02 arround also there is a lot of confined space work but all in all i feel pretty safe in my workpace

Feathers · 24-02-2006, 09:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deesun

I hope for your sake that your company, WW, becomes like my company, C , and self insures and breeds a whole new culture in safety.

We do self insure.
We were told that at the mind-numbingly dull 2 day OH&S course.
The people who work for head office care. It's their job to, but the rest of us don't have time.
We don't even do the department inspections properly. Sitting in the offices and ticking things.

Mack 6 · 24-02-2006, 10:50 AM

My work had a safety audit before I had my accident, and the reports weren't great.

When I came back to work I was put in charge of the OH&S side of things.
I now have a new spray booth, forklifts are fixed (don't lurch and crush ppl's hands anymore), swing cranes in the workshop so you don't have to manually lift 60kg onto the milling machine or lathe, etc. etc.

A lot of the stuff I have to do is menial like procedures for everything, buit at least I'm covering the company's ***.
Before I started back, 2 people had forklift licences and everyone drove them, now everyone has licences. We had no fire wardens or fire evac plans, now we have both (In a workshop with heaps of flammable and hazardous materials and 3 welders going all day that's good)
The boss wants someone trained up for first aid, but everyone is squeamish around blood. I have my senior certificate through the army, so I'm it.

All in all it's very average but getting better. I have to talk someone into getting their first aid before I leave.

deesun · 24-02-2006, 11:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Feathers

It's their job to, but the rest of us don't have time..

If you and your company want to keep believing that then you and your friends/workmates will continue to have accidents and injuries. Safety can be driven by the company but the ultimate responsibility rests with you on the floor.

Redrum · 24-02-2006, 12:06 PM

I work for the biggest claimant of Workcover in Victoria and despite one of my organisations mottos being safety first the reality is it is money first. I have seen many situations when members could have been killed or were put at risk due to poor management, being under resourced or just lack of training.

I used to work for Ford. Although there were breachs the union and health and safety reps in my area worked well with management to fix these issues. With my current employer though it takes a death, this changes things for short term, and then they go back to same old way............tis a sad culture.

I think the laws are strong enough but the authority to regulate them needs more resources.

Feathers · 24-02-2006, 12:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deesun

If you and your company want to keep believing that then you and your friends/workmates will continue to have accidents and injuries. Safety can be driven by the company but the ultimate responsibility rests with you on the floor.

When I start getting told off by my bosses for that, fine, but as long as the only things they care about are that my ticketing isn't finished, and things aren't all put in plastic sleeves, or a couple of incorrect prices, a few hundred unknown items and non-ticketed displays that I didn't know existed, then I'll worry about that first.
I get no help with my work. If I have a day off sick there is no one to cover me, and I get further behind. Not to mention that if you do any overtime then they won't pay it and make you go home early.

gtfpv · 24-02-2006, 01:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Feathers

When I start getting told off by my bosses for that, fine, but as long as the only things they care about are that my ticketing isn't finished, and things aren't all put in plastic sleeves, or a couple of incorrect prices, a few hundred unknown items and non-ticketed displays that I didn't know existed, then I'll worry about that first.
I get no help with my work. If I have a day off sick there is no one to cover me, and I get further behind. Not to mention that if you do any overtime then they won't pay it and make you go home early.

advice for you . its not your problem if they dont cover you when your sick . it is thiers. you dont get overtime pay . then dont do it . dont go home early because they tell you to .
and work to you capability .at your pace not thiers . let a manager worry about it . and if your a manager . slow down take it easy dont stress.
so many woman think that the boss cares about them if they work hard and go the extra mile . GUESS WHAT THE BOSS DONT CARE.if they did they would pay ot . and you wouldnt have to catchup when you are back from sick leave .chill.

myxr6 · 24-02-2006, 03:56 PM

I have a pic of people using a big forklift to lift a smaller forklift to get aload up high.
Now that stupid.
I dont know how to post pics , so ai cant put it up.

sphell · 24-02-2006, 04:20 PM

workplace safety is the best lol....

got this from another web site :

Workcover vs Cops
Got this in an email this morning.

Love this, how sweet it is....

Melrose Drive , Tullamarine , Victoria, Australia . January 16th 2006
:14.35 hours :

Highway patrol pulls over a Workcover Inspector for doing 68 in a 60 zone.

Workcover Inspector says nothing and cops it sweet.

Policeman finishes writing ticket and proceeds back to his car...........

Workcover Inspector in the mean time, gets digital camera out of bag,
photographs the cop and proceeds to the police car where he issues the
Policeman with an $800.00 fine for not wearing his hi-visibility vest when
leaving his vehicle in a high traffic area.

:

agony · 24-02-2006, 04:25 PM

BEING AN A*SE HOLE FOR A JOB - HEY HE GOT WHAT HE DESERVED

24-02-2006, 04:25 PM

Yep, my workplace has good work safety.

Redrum · 24-02-2006, 04:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sphell

workplace safety is the best lol....

got this from another web site :

Workcover vs Cops
Got this in an email this morning.

Love this, how sweet it is....

Melrose Drive , Tullamarine , Victoria, Australia . January 16th 2006
:14.35 hours :

Highway patrol pulls over a Workcover Inspector for doing 68 in a 60 zone.

Workcover Inspector says nothing and cops it sweet.

Policeman finishes writing ticket and proceeds back to his car...........

Workcover Inspector in the mean time, gets digital camera out of bag,
photographs the cop and proceeds to the police car where he issues the
Policeman with an $800.00 fine for not wearing his hi-visibility vest when
leaving his vehicle in a high traffic area.

:

If this were true I am sure the force would have to wear the bill as they do not train or instruct members to wear the vests when C4 with a vehicle. Also I think a directive would have been issued that all members do wear them so not to attract a fine such as this. I think this story most likely that, just a story.

Des · 24-02-2006, 04:35 PM

My last employer made my position redundant 31/1/06, so I'm in-between jobs at the moment, but. I was the OH&S rep for the warehouse and started working there when OH&S was non-existant. Now it's much better though the awareness has slipped in the last 4 months. Luckily I passed the baton on to a young lady who's very passionate about the welfare of her fellow employees and is working hard to bring the standards back up with upper management (who by the way instigated the slip).
Feathers, I've good news and bad news. If you follow the OH&S Act/Regulation as best you know how, then you should be right. Bad news is (and everyone should take note) if you see a breach of any kind, even if the company or a rep of the company orders you to look away, then you are in breach and can personally be fined and/or jailed. Workcover usually like to go as high as they can, but not always. If you don't want to be on the committee, resign, it'll be better for you.
Remember, the company can't sack you for refusing to break the rules. I've had screaming matches with my bosses over safety, but I wasn't going to knowingly put other at risk by breaking the law. I even had other employees have a go at me because the interim measures where a pain in the @rse, but their happier now with the end result. Most of them apoligised afterwards.

347_XR8 · 24-02-2006, 06:01 PM

Ah, the good old "in theory". Yes, "in theory" we should do things are certain way because it is safe and what not. But to quote Homer Simpson "In theory, communism works"
However being stupid liket hat pic with the two forks is just not on!

deesun · 24-02-2006, 08:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Feathers

When I start getting told off by my bosses for that, fine, but as long as the only things they care about are that my ticketing isn't finished, and things aren't all put in plastic sleeves, or a couple of incorrect prices, a few hundred unknown items and non-ticketed displays that I didn't know existed, then I'll worry about that first.
I get no help with my work. If I have a day off sick there is no one to cover me, and I get further behind. Not to mention that if you do any overtime then they won't pay it and make you go home early.

Attitudes like that need to change and for your sake and all at your workplace I hope that they do. One day your bosses and company will wake up and find a dead person and all hell will break loose. It will just be a shame it took such an accident to make the difference. The fine will never be big enough for such neglect

rapidxr6 · 25-02-2006, 10:53 PM

...you know, if you open a can of worms they all crawl out...

Just rolled back in a coupla hours ago from Geelong this has been an interesting thread. Some replies were a tad bit worrisom, others were outstanding 'The double decker' forklift..OMG how stooopid.
I had numerous in depth conversations concerning the safety topic with fellow union reps, organisers and the state secretary of our union, whilst attending my meetings..the thing is...I am one of our sites union reps.. I do and will NOT drop names to the bosses of the workers breaching safety regs.. as they will be sacked... I AM NOT here to sack my unionised workers..(scabs are fair game)

: Nor do i wish for anyone to be fined or jailed..what worrys me most is that someone is going to have to be set as an example and have their employment terminated due to a safety/isolation or procedure breach.
BUT this is no differnet than saying..ok we'll wait for some poor bugga to put his hand in there and get it cut off then we will put a gaurd there to prevent the worker from putting his hand in there while the machine is running, even though there is a safety procedure stating "ISOLATE BEFORE FIXING A TANGLE" in that area. And the workers only defence will be "i've done it that way for 10 years, now how about a pay-out for my missing arm"...not friggin likely, the procedure was put in place to stop that from happening... & so the viscous circle begins...a very crude example
WHAT i want is for everyone to stop being so pathetically blazay about there own safety and personal well-being, "go home as fit as you came."
I have my reasons for being passionate about this topic, but tend to get a bit rattled and can't get me god-damned words out.
Things can only get better, can't get no worse.

:

EvilChief · 26-02-2006, 12:25 AM

safety breaches were one of the reasosn for me resigning from my previous job among other things.

we did not even have someone to look after H&S at the place ...

everything was concerened with money $$$

just to name a few things:

- employees were to fix electrical items, which operated on high voltage or/and high amps without prior training or electrical certificate
- electrical wiring was as old as the place (30+ years) and we blew fuses on a daily basis (several double adapter switched in sequence)
- our department had 1 AC for about 50sqm, where as upsatirs 7 ACs were fitted for the same area
- downstair workshop had only a regular high of 185 to 195cm ... me bing 190cm i used to hit the roof on a daily basis (LITERALLY!)
- Fire extingushers over 8 years old and not serviced, also not suitable for electrical fires
- no fire alarms downstairs
- only one exit, no emergency exits
- having to drive for 6+ hours + work without a breal for days on end

and the list goes on ... not happy ... looking for new job now :S

deesun · 26-02-2006, 10:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EvilChief

safety breaches were one of the reasosn for me resigning from my previous job among other things.

we did not even have someone to look after H&S at the place ...

everything was concerened with money $$$

just to name a few things:

- employees were to fix electrical items, which operated on high voltage or/and high amps without prior training or electrical certificate
- electrical wiring was as old as the place (30+ years) and we blew fuses on a daily basis (several double adapter switched in sequence)
- our department had 1 AC for about 50sqm, where as upsatirs 7 ACs were fitted for the same area
- downstair workshop had only a regular high of 185 to 195cm ... me bing 190cm i used to hit the roof on a daily basis (LITERALLY!)
- Fire extingushers over 8 years old and not serviced, also not suitable for electrical fires
- no fire alarms downstairs
- only one exit, no emergency exits
- having to drive for 6+ hours + work without a breal for days on end

and the list goes on ... not happy ... looking for new job now :S

Sounds like you need to report it to workcover so if you need to keep your job then find a new one and then report it. I found in the battle against the bosses that everyone agrees in the lunchroom but no one backs you up in the bosses office,and you need backup and records of goings on with witnesses. One day you wont be able to fix the fuses because the guy before you is laying dead on the floor.