UWA Safety and Health Newsletter – June 2005
University Safety Committee
The USC last met on Tuesday 14 June 2005. Approved minutes from previous meetings are available from the S&H website. The new University Managers Group representative is Dr Renu Sharma from Plant Biology.
UWA Occupational Safety and Health Policy
The University Occupational Safety and Health policy has been updated. A laminated copy of the revised policy will be distributed to all areas. The policy is also available on the web at: http://www.safety.uwa.edu.au/policies/occupational_safety_and_health
UWA Safety Awards 2005
Information on the requirements for the 2005 UWA Safety Awards will be distributed shortly.
Safety Related Training
ChemAlert Administrator training (2 days) will be held on Thursday 14 and Friday 15 July. This is for key contacts within Faculties, Schools and Units to assist with the implementation of ChemAlert throughout the University. The course covers product searching, stock management, printing reports, risk assessment and security. For further information on ChemAlert see: http://www.safety.uwa.edu.au/about_chemical_safety/chemalert
A talk on Eye Care will be held from 1 pm to 1:45 pm on Monday 18 July in CMS Seminar Room G35 (in the new Biochemical Sciences building). Geoffrey Kaye from the Eyecare Centre on campus will discuss eye care with a particular emphasis on macular degeneration. It is estimated that one in seven people over 50 may have some form of macular degeneration, now the leading cause of legal blindness in Australia. Please RSVP to Safety and Health (ext 3938) by the preceding Friday to enable sufficient handout materials to be provided to all at this session.
Mental Health First Aid Courses
Two courses (all sessions are from 1 – 4 pm) are arranged for Semester 2 2005 through OSDS:-
* Mon 5 September, Wed 7 September, Mon 12 September, Fri 16 September
* Mon 3 October, Fri 7 October, Mon 10 October, Fri 14 October
For further information on these courses, please see: http://www.csd.osds.uwa.edu.au/about/workshop.asp?workshop_id=340
Limited vacancies are also available for a course being held in the Reid Library from 1:30 – 4:30 pm on Thurs 21, Thurs 28 July and Thurs 4 and Thurs 11 August. If you are interested in attending, please email Averil Riley ariley@admin.uwa.edu.au.
What's New
Ergonomic Information
How hazardous is lifting after prolonged sitting?
Sitting causes our lumbar spine to be flexed to a range of about 60 degrees. Most of us would not work standing with this degree of flexion, but many people are happy to sit all day! Research by Dr Stuart McGill, University of Waterloo, indicates that it takes the ligaments in the lumbar spine up to 1 minute to recover and take up the "slack" when changing from sitting to standing after sitting for 50 minutes. Stretching our backs by performing back extension stretches will help before lifting. An exercise to do this while seated is to make a fist, and push on the lower back with it while leaning back. Do this slowly. Always move around after any type of prolonged immobility, especially before doing anything strenuous.
NOHSC draft Manual Handling Code of Practice
The National Occupational Health and Safety Commission have put together a new Manual Handling Code of Practice (COP). It combines the previous intent of the COP Prevention of Occupational Overuse Syndrome and COP Manual Handling and it is proposed that the new COP be called "National Code of Practice for the prevention of musculoskeletal Disorder (MSD) form Manual Handling at work". However, it is still called the Manual Handling Code of Practice 2005. See http://www.docep.wa.gov.au/default.asp?id=cp/about/discussions#manual.
There is a lot more onus on designers, architects, and manufacturers on completing risk assessments for manual handling hazards associated with plant and facilities etc. This would also have relevance for researchers who design equipment, please pass this information on to relevant people in your area.
WA: Concerns over "low awareness" of isolation procedures
A WA recycling company has been fined $15,000 for failing to provide a safe workplace after an incident demonstrated its lack of isolation procedures. Two employees were clearing a rotating drum of accumulated rubbish, after first switching off the machine. A short time later, an employee was asked to turn on a conveyor to get the rubbish moving, but a lack of labelling meant he did not know which switch to use and pushed several buttons, activating several pieces of plant. The worker inadvertently switched on the rotating drum while the two employees were still in it, resulting in minor injuries to both men.
A WorkSafe inspection found that no procedures existed for safe cleaning or shutting down of the drum; there were no labels on the switches and there was no provision for the machinery to be isolated during maintenance.
For further information on isolating plant refer to the WorkSafe Guidance Note on Isolation of Plant
Forklift Safety - Reducing the Risk - Forklift Instability
"Forklift Safety - Reducing the Risk - Forklift Instability" is a 24 page publication produced by WorkSafe Victoria and intended for supervisors, managers and forklift operators which explains forklift safety and instability.
A medium sized forklift weighs about the same as your average dump truck - and can cause just as much damage and injury. You would place tight controls on a heavy vehicle such as a dump truck travelling around your workplace, and the same must be done for a forklift.
Supervisors and managers must be aware of how a forklift is operated, and the serious impact incorrect safety procedures can have on lives, families and businesses.
US Naval Safety Centre
The US Naval Safety Centre has an extensive collection of safety photographs – some amazing, others downright frightening.
Copies of previous newsletters can be obtained from the following web site: http://www.safety.uwa.edu.au/newsletter
The University of Western Australia
UWA Safety and Health
Bus. 08 6488 3938
Fax. 08 6488 1179
Web: www.safety.uwa.edu.au
Email: safety@uwa.edu.au
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