WHS Act Employer Obligations

Health and safety is paramount for all businesses, but the automotive industry in particular offers up specific risks that need to be considered. We’ve broken down the rules surrounding the conduct expected of you, a business owner, and included some examples of how best to manage those.

All Persons Conducting or Undertaking Business (PCBU) have a primary duty of care under section 19 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2012 (“the Act”) to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that the health and safety of their workers is not put at risk from the conduct of the business or undertaking.

It is important for a PCBU to remember that this duty of care also applies to others in the workplace, for example: clients, visitors, customers and volunteers. Further, in accordance with section 14-17 of the Act:

• a duty cannot be transferred to another person

• a person can have more than one duty (eg duties as a manufacturer as well as duties as a PCBU to workers and others)

• duties of care may be shared, such that more than one person can have the same duty at the same time

Your responsibilities

To ensure compliance with the duties of care as a PCBU under the Act, you must ensure you have:

• a safe work environment

• policies and procedures and safe work practices in place

• a work environment and work culture free of discrimination, harassment and bullying

• adequate facilities and training to support the welfare of workers

• safe plant and structures

You must also provide all workers with:

• an induction into the business

• sufficient information, instruction, training and supervision to ensure that they are competent to work safely i.e. do not give workers tasks unless they have the necessary skills

• any necessary personal protective equipment

• current health and safety policies and procedures

If you have a new worker, you should:

• give them your time in providing a thorough induction

• encourage them to ask questions and report hazards

• make sure they are competent prior to using any plant and equipment

• take them through your procedures to convey safety standards and expectations

It is important for a business to take their health and safety duties seriously, as a breach of these duties may result in prosecution resulting in significant penalties.

The following prosecution was successfully pursued recently by SafeWorkSA through the South Australian Employment Tribunal (SAET):

It is important for a business to take their health and safety duties seriously, as a breach of these duties may result in prosecution resulting in significant penalties.

CASE STUDY – MARTYN CAMPBELL V F LAUCKE PTY LTD

In October 2020 a worker suffered fatal injuries when they were crushed and asphyxiated in a pneumatic slide-gate.

Workers were periodically required to access the inside of the surge bin of a pellet press to clean and maintain it. It was possible for a worker to access the interior of the surge bin through an access hole at the top of the bin. This access hole was covered by a hatch that was not interlocked and could be opened without tools. Materials were fed into the surge bin from two other bins located above the surge bin. The flow of materials between the bins was controlled by a pneumatic slidegate. When the pneumatic slide-gate was open, it would move to cover the access hole.

It was possible for a worker to remotely operate parts of the pellet press, including the pneumatic slidegate, from a control room.

It was also possible for a worker to access the interior of the surge bin while the pneumatic slide-gate was operational. There was a risk that a worker’s head, neck and/or body may be struck and/or crushed by the pneumatic slide-gate whilst accessing the interior of the surge bin.

On the day of his death, the worker attempted to clean the build-up of mash at the bottom on the surge bin. As per instructions, the workers asked the press operator to close off the airline to the hydraulic gate. Unfortunately, closing off the air supply had failed to isolate the slide gate and prevent it from activating.

F Laucke Pty Ltd exposed workers to a risk of serious injury or death by failing to ensure, so far as was reasonably practicable:

• a safe work environment (as it was possible for a worker to access the inside of the surge bin while the pneumatic slide-gate was operational)

• a safe system of work for the task (as they did not perform an adequate hazard identification and risk assessment process which properly identified and assessed the above mentioned risk)

F Laucke Pty Ltd pleaded guilty in SAET for breaches of section 32 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2012 (SA) resulting in a conviction, a fine of $650,000 (reduced to $390,000 after discount for early guilty plea) plus legal fees.

Hazard identification and risk assessment and control is an ongoing process. Therefore, reviews of the hazard assessment and control measures should take place at least once every three (3) years.

Members should ensure that:

• a hazard and risk assessment is carried out when there is a change to the workplace, including when work systems, tools, machinery or equipment change

• additional supervision is provided when new employees with reduced skill levels or knowledge start in the workplace

• control measures are regularly reviewed in consultation with the workers. A review may also be warranted if the control measure no longer controls the risk it was implemented to control, or a new hazard or risk is identified

For more information on the topics above, Code of Practice documents are available on the SafeWork SA and the NT WorkSafe website.

For direct support on any of these topics, members are encouraged to contact the MTA Workplace Relations team on 8291 2000 or at wr@mtasant.com.au.