In all RTOs we are conscious of Safety and work with embedding safety systems into our RTO. We are no different to other businesses around Australia. It doesn’t matter if we train in areas that perhaps are not “high risk” we need to ensure safety of our staff, students, any visitors or contractors. Perhaps the lowest level of risk is someone who trains and assesses students via an internet in some way. However that does not mean the risk has moved or can be neglected. For RTO’s in all capacities it is about using safe systems, and ensuring others are not harmed through any of the activities.
Recently Safe Work Australia released a report concerning work-related fatalities associated with unsafe design of machinery, plant and powered tools from year 2006-2011. I have included some information here that may interest you.
According to the report, 36 per cent of the 523 fatalities examined in the study were found to be either definitely or possibly design-related. This indicates that many lives would have probably been spared if the risks of the equipment involved had been eliminated through safe design.
According to the report the most common causes of design-related deaths were:
- inadequate guarding (21 per cent)
- lack of roll-over protection structures/seat belts (15 per cent)
- lack of residual current device (12 per cent)
- lack of interlock (eight per cent), and
- driver obstructed vision (eight per cent).
The results of this report are interesting and includes facts around the number of fatal incidents involving the users of elevating work platforms being crushed against roofing and beams. There were 7 fatalities during the period 2006 to 2011. Some manufacturers are responding to this risk with caged platforms with anti-entrapment devices such as a frame fitted to the basket that provides a ‘safe zone’ within the platform and sensor bars or pads that stop the movement of the basket should the operator be pushed onto them.
At the broadest level the same conclusions can be drawn from this study as were drawn in an earlier study in 2005 (ASCC, 2005).
- unsafe design is a significant contributor to fatal incidents in many industries
- there are many commonalities in the circumstances of the fatal incidents, and
- there are existing solutions for most of the common identified design-related problems.
If you wish to review the report further it presents further analysis of these design-related fatal incidents on the basis of the circumstance category that best summarised the incident. Many brief example narratives of the fatal incidents are also included, along with a summary of the evidence that led to the classification.