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EVENTS WEIGHTING
GUIDE
The Events Weighting Guide has
been well accepted in Victoria and
is being looked at by the Australian
Building Standards Committee which
the association believes could have
considerable effect on the industry.
Anyone enquiring about weighting of
temporary structures and marquees
is being encouraged to use the guide
which is available on the HRIA website
– www.hireandrental.com.au
PORTABLE TOILETS / TSS
VICTORIA
A submission on portable toilets to
the Victorian Department of Health
was submitted by the TSS (Temporary
Site Services) in late December. The
submission included a request for
scientific answers on why straight drop
and recirculating toilets for events
are banned in Victoria. The HRIA was
still awaiting a response from the
Department of Health at the time of
going to press.
NATIONAL OFFICE
To cater for the growth of member
services for both the HRIA and
EWPA the National Office for both
associations has expanded into
adjoining office areas to provide
an additional 50% more space. The
new office space includes a meeting/
conference room and additional
working areas to reduce overcrowding.
For more information contact the HRIA
National Office phone: 02 9998 2255.
WH&S ACTS AND
HARMONISATION
The new nationally harmonised
WH&S Acts started to come into
action in January. The NSW and QLD
Worksafe offices have been active
providing reading material and making
supporting help lines available. The
HRIA has found Queensland Worksafe
has easy to read summary guides
on how the new Act works and the
differences plus one on ‘Due Diligence’.
Visit: www.worksafe.qld.gov.au
NSWWorksafe also has a Practical
Guide to understanding the new Act. It
is a two page summary available from:
www.workcover.nsw.gov.au
In addition the NSW Business Chamber
ran seminars all over NSW during
March and April on the changes.
(www.nswbusinesschamber.com.au)
Compressed air solutions
and services provider, Sullair
Australia, recently achieved
accreditation from Lloyd’s
Register Quality Assurance
(LRQA) Australia for its
Safety Management and
Environmental Management
Systems.
This ensures Sullair Australia
is operating to the world’s
most stringent standards for
Environment, Health and Safety
(EH&S) management.
According to Sullair Australia
HSE Manager, George Covino,
achieving OHSAS18001 Safety
Management System and
ISO14001 Environmental
Management System
certification was a major
worldwide corporate goal for
Sullair in 2011.
“Attaining OHSAS18001 and
ISO14001 accreditation is a
testament to the maturity of
both our systems,” he said.
The scope of the certification
covers all aspects of the
company’s assembly, repair,
and stockholding activities,
plus the servicing of packaged
rotary screw and reciprocating
The scope of the OHSAS18001 and ISO14001 certification
covers all aspects of assembly, repair, stockholding and
servicing activities
Best-in-class for EH&S
compressor
systems and
associated
compressed
air equipment
at end-users’
sites. The
result will be
enhanced
standards of
product design
and build,
manufacturing,
and after-
market care,
delivering benefits throughout
the company, and to the end
user.
A key component of the
accreditation is to certify all
safety and environmental
standards are embedded
into onsite servicing and
repair operations at end
user’s facilities. In practice,
this means when visiting a
customer site, Sullair service
technicians operate to best-in-
class environmental and safety
practices and procedures that
meet and often exceed the end
users’ own EH&S requirements.
Sullair’s Environmental and
Safety Management Systems
also incorporate strategies for
continual improvement.
“With OHSAS18001 and
ISO14001 certification in place,
Sullair Australia is currently
at the forefront of safe and
environmentally responsible
compressed air solutions,”
George said.
“We aim to continue to
improve our Safety and
Environmental Management
Systems to ensure they remain
as efficient and effective as
possible.”
Contact: 1300 COMPRESSOR
or visit: www.sullair.com.au
HR
6 | HIRE
AND
RENTAL
NEWS
| MAY 2012
INDUSTRY NEWS
NEWS IN BRIEF
WorkCover NSW has issued
an urgent warning to businesses
and workers following the
notification of a third serious
incident involving an excavator
in less than two months.
WorkCover General Manager
of Workplace Health and Safety
Division John Watson said the
third incident was reported to
WorkCover in early April.
“Preliminary investigations
found a 20-year-old man was
hit by an excavator bucket
in Dapto, causing suspected
serious and permanent injury,”
Mr Watson said.
Mr Watson said the incident
follows two recent fatalities also
involving excavator buckets.
“In the past two months two
workers have suffered fatal
injuries on demolition sites in
Injury prompts excavator safety warning
Sydney after buckets fell off
excavator booms,” Mr Watson
said.
“Incidents such as these
are avoidable. Workers must
pay constant attention when
working with and around
excavators. These tragic events
have far-reaching consequences
for friends, families, and
communities. We want all
workers to return home safely
to their families at the end of
every working day.
“These tragic incidents
demonstrate why the
demolition and construction
sectors are a major focus of
WorkCover’s 10/5/5 Program,
which targets the top 10 highest
risk industries, and the top five
injuries and illnesses in those
industries.”
Mr Watson said there were
a number of actions businesses
and workers could take to
improve safety when working
on and around excavators,
which include:
• Excavator operators need to
know how to operate the
specific quick hitch on the
excavator they use, whether it
is automatically secured or by
manually inserting a pin.
• Quick hitches should be
maintained and in proper
working order. Ensure people
are not exposed to risks by
establishing an exclusion zone
when the excavator is in use.
A recent WorkCover
safety alert on working with
excavators is available at:
www.workcover.nsw.gov.au or
call 13 10 50 for more.
HR