Non-driving related incidents spur heavy vehicle safety effort
Safety inspectors will visit transport operators across Newcastle and the Hunter Region from this week as part of a Safety Around Your Vehicle compliance project, SafeWork NSW advises.
The aim is to promote safer working practices when loading, unloading and working around vehicles, with SafeWork inspectors to speak to operators on the requirement to have safe work systems for tasks around heavy vehicles.
“Almost every week, we see workers getting injured, or worse, while working around vehicles, whether that’s in a transport depot, unloading on a construction site, loading at a distribution centre or making retail or home deliveries,” SafeWork NSW executive director Tony Williams says.
“Many of the incidents are not driving related, but happen as people work around the truck or vehicle.
“These visits are not about driving habits, they’re about safe work practices around the vehicle.
“To help achieve this, we will have up to 12 inspectors visiting sites across the region.
“The visits are about addressing safe loading and unloading practices, the importance of properly immobilising heavy vehicles and promoting the separation of people, product and plant at all workplaces.
“We have been undertaking widespread transport industry consultation to identify the highest priority risks, and this is part of our response to those issues.”
The NHVR has gone in heavy over hundreds of breaches, here
In contextualising the project, SafeWork NSW points to a number of serious recent incidents, including a worker suffering serious leg injuries in April when the truck she was working on rolled away from her on a property near Oberon.
In late 2020, a 50-year-old mechanic suffered fatal crush injuries in Tumut while working on the brake line of a tipper truck, and a 52-year-old tow truck driver was fatally crushed by a prime mover as it rolled off a tilt tray semi-trailer in Newcastle.
The compliance visit follows on from the recent launch of SafeWork NSW’s Safety Around Your Vehicle Glove Box Guide, which ensures those working in the heavy vehicle industry have access to the most up-to-date safety information.
“We are ensuring workers in the industry have access to the best safety information possible,” Williams says.
“This guide contains information on everything from conducting a vehicle pre-start check, to information on what to do to prevent an unintentional roll away, as well as advice on loading and unloading vehicles.”
More information on the Safety Around Your Vehicle Campaign and Glove Box Guide for Drivers are available via www.safework.nsw.gov.au.