WorkSafe Victoria will conduct more than 100 workplace inspections in the Moe, Newborough and Trafalgar area later this month as part of its ongoing Safe Towns campaign.
More than 400 workers were injured in the Moe region in the last five years, costing more than $12 million in treatment and rehabilitation.
Safe Towns is designed to ensure local workplaces are equipped with all the tools necessary to make informed decisions about health and safety and to make sure employers understand their legal obligations.
The inspections will take place from 17 to 21 August, with health and safety inspectors knocking on the doors of workplaces across the region.
WorkSafe regional operations manager Phil Grimson said hazardous and high risk workplaces would be the focus of the safety campaign.
“Inspectors will be concentrating on workplace dangers that can lead to serious injuries from potentially high risk practices such as handling chemicals, working with electrical equipment and manual handling,” Mr Grimson said.
According to WorkSafe, more than 19 per cent of workplace injuries in the greater Moe area since 2008-09 occurred in the manufacturing sector and of these, the majority were strains and sprains caused by poor manual handling.
Mr Grimson said inspectors would provide advice on how to prevent injuries through good work practices.
“Inspectors will help identify things like poor workshop layouts that cause workers to move awkward objects between machines for processing that could result in manual handling-related injuries,” he said.
Mr Grimson encouraged businesses to take advantage of the opportunity to speak to WorkSafe inspectors during their visit to ensure they fully understood their workplace obligations.
More than 19 per cent of workplace injuries in the greater Moe area since 2008-09 occurred in the manufacturing sector.
Source: WorkSafe
