Health and safety update: News
Keeping you informed
The OHS Vulnerability Measure, developed at the Institute for Work & Health, Ontario, measures the extent to which a worker may be vulnerable to occupational health and safety (OHS) risks at work. Research has shown that vulnerability, as measured by this tool, is associated with elevated rates of self-reported work injury and illness.
The tool assesses OHS vulnerability in four areas:
- hazard exposure
- workplace policies and procedures
- worker awareness of hazards and OHS rights and responsibilities
- worker empowerment to participate in injury and illness prevention.
Institute for Work & Health, July 2016
Cattle handling guide released in Farm Safety Week
Coinciding with Farm Safety Week, Safe Work Australia has released a new Guide for managing risks in cattle handing.
Cattle handling can present significant risks to workers, from being crushed, gored, trampled, hit or bitten by cattle. In the 10 years from 2005–2014, 36% of agricultural injury claims were due to cattle handling, most of these injuries caused by being hit by cattle.
Safe Work Australia, 20 July 2016
UK: annual workplace fatality statistics published
Provisional annual data for work-related fatal accidents in Great Britain’s workplaces has been released.
The long term trend has seen the rate of fatalities more than halve over the last 20 years. However, provisional figures indicate that 144 people were killed while at work in 2015/2016 – up from 142 in 2014/5.
The Health and Safety Executive has called on all sectors to learn lessons to ensure workers return home safe from work.
Healh and Safety Executive, 6 July 2016
Queensland: Onsite traffic management and pedestrian safety project
Workplaces in the construction, manufacturing, transport and agriculture industries will be the focus of a year-long statewide audit campaign starting in July 2016 targeting traffic management.
The project aims to reduce the rate of fatalities and severity of injuries involving people being hit by mobile plant and vehicles at Queensland workplaces.
Workplace Health and Safety Queensland inspectors will visit workplaces to raise awareness of the risks and help them implement effective traffic management strategies.
Workplace Health and Safety Queensland, 20 July 2016
The challenge of safety and health in micro and small enterprises: what can be done?
In a project looking at micro and small enterprises EU-OSHA identifies how policies, strategies and practical solutions can improve occupational safety and health in these enterprises.
The results of the first phase of this project have been published, highlighting that MSEs experience poor outcomes in terms of working conditions and work-related health effects. The report also identifies the main challenges MSEs are facing in making efficient OSH arrangements.
OSHA, 28 June 2016
OiRA’s fast-growing community facilitates risk assessment to enterprises
OiRA is a web application developed by EU-OSHA which enables small enterprises to implement risk assessments and prevention plans through the use of interactive tools.
More than 90 OiRA tools have been developed across Europe. They cover occupational sectors such as agriculture, catering, cleaning, hairdressing, live performance, road transport, sports, and many others. Around 45,000 risk assessments were carried out so far through OiRA.
OSHA, 23 June 2016
