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A SWMS Is Not Self-Executing
A worker entered a demolition site with two feet and left without the toes and part of the forefoot of his left foot. The risk had been identified, the controls had been documented and the business had a Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS), but the controls described in that document were not operating when they were needed. Photo by Frederick Shaw on Unsplash On 02 Jul 26, the South Australian Employment Court convicted A. Haros Demolition Pty Ltd of a Category 2 offence under

Safety Jon
1 day ago5 min read


Engaging A Contractor Does Not Outsource Operational Control
The CCTV footage lasts only seconds, but it captures the entire problem. External contractors are moving a coin blanking press weighing around three tonnes with a forklift when the press becomes unstable, falls from the forklift tines and narrowly misses a worker standing beside it. The worker escapes, so the event becomes a near miss rather than a fatality. That distinction matters enormously to the worker, but it does not make the underlying failure less serious. The footag

Safety Jon
6 days ago7 min read


When One Fall Creates Two Convictions: Bridgeworks, Menai Civil, and the Myth of “Not My Worker”
On 11 Nov 22, a formworker fell nearly 3.85 metres from a bridge abutment at a construction site in Huntley, New South Wales, while stripping formwork. The worker was positioned on the top of the southern abutment, using an extension ladder to attach wire chains between a 26-tonne excavator and form soldiers, and was not wearing a harness because the steel available for anchoring was on the opposite side of the abutment. Image generate for visual effect. The incident resulted

Safety Jon
May 188 min read
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