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This year, Pomewest has been facilitating and encouraging pome growers to engage with Worksafe with their Orchard Inspection Project. Worksafe representatives were invited to present at our recent industry engagement dinners in Donnybrook, Manjimup and the Perth Hills.
The driver behind the project is to enable orchardists to protect themselves and their workers with high class, safe work practices and environments. The other benefits of being involved in the project is that growers and farm managers will be able to meet with inspectors at a time that is convenient and suitable to prepare
for routine visits and any possible surprise situations that could interrupt production activities.
• Maintenance of and guarding of achinery including PTO’s and plant
• Testing of RCD’s
• Forklifts operators not having high risk licences
• Emergency evacuation processes light on
• Non-compliant ladders to fuel tanks
• Risk assessment for use of portable ladders
• Risk assessment of MEWP’s on slopes, in relation to manufactures limitations.
At the start of this collaboration the Pomewest Committee asked Worksafe to provide it with some data on lost time for injuries and diseases for the Apple & Pear, Stone and Citrus Fruit industries. Essentially the data was collected by information provided on workers’ compensation claims collected by WorkCover WA in 2019 and has been.
During the combined nine year period from 2009–10 to 2017–18p:
• LTI/Ds where one or more days/shifts was lost from work as a result of a workplace incident (LTI/Ds 1+ days/ shifts lost) accounted for 70% of total injury and disease claims lodged (see Table 1).
• A 38% reduction was recorded in total injury/disease claims and a 32% reduction in LTI/Ds 1+ days/shifts lost.
• There have been no work-related traumatic injury fatalities recorded in these industries.
• The number of Falls from a height LTI/Ds reduced from 10 incidents in 2009–10 to seven in 2017–18p.
• Less than five LTI/Ds (1+ days/shifts lost) was recorded per year between 2010–11 and 2016–17.
• The breakdown agency of injury classifications associated with multiple Falls from a height LTI/Ds (1+ days/shifts lost) during the reporting period were (in order of magnitude) Ladders (24 LTI/Ds), Tractors, agricultural or otherwise, Power hoists and Vegetation.
• 92% (or 24 LTI/Ds 1+ days/shifts lost) were a result of Falls from a height.
• The most common natures of injury arising from such workplace incidents was soft tissue injuries due to trauma or unknown mechanisms accounting for 46% (or 11 LTI/Ds 1+ days/shifts lost). Other nature of injury classifications included Other fractures, not elsewhere classified and Dislocation.
Preliminary data for 2017–18 recorded six LTI/Ds (1+ days/ shifts lost) involving Ladders; this is the highest number of such LTI/Ds recorded during the nine-year period. Historically, less than five LTI/Ds have been recorded annually.
A full report is available to you on application to Pomewest which provides explanatory notes the above reported data. Worksafe will continue to give us feedback on the outcomes over the life of the project.
Preparing to attend a trade show
Attending international trade shows are a great opportunity to meet potential buyers, understand what customers are looking for and learn about your competitors. Trade shows can seem a bit daunting at first but with some preparation they can be very beneficial for your business and export development.
Bao Duy Nguyen:
Nuffield Scholar and Sun City Produce Managing Director Bao Duy Nguyen has released his report on the findings from his scholarship, which was undertaken in 2017. Vegetables Australia spoke to Bao about his Nuffield experience and the opportunities that it has presented within the industry as well as his own professional development.
Do you need to look
It’s an exciting time to be part of the horticultural industry and with many businesses growing in size and complexity over the years, now is a good time to ask the question — has my financial management evolved with the business or does it need a makeover?
Vegetable growing:
Vegetable growing is more than throwing seeds into the soil and expecting them to grow. It is a livelihood for many, including Western Australian grower Paul Glavocich. In this edition, Paul opens up about his growing operation and its challenges, his role at vegetablesWA and how a benchmarking project has assisted him in recent business decisions.