​Cardboard box manufacturer Lakeside Packaging has been convicted and fined $55,000 after pleading guilty in the Broadmeadows Magistrates’ Court to one charge of failing to ensure persons other than employees were not exposed to risks to their health and safety.

The revised Workplace exposure standards for airborne contaminants (WESFAC) have made a class exemption that exempts mines and petroleum sites from complying with the new respirable crystalline silica exposure standard of 0.05 mg/m3. WESFAC has been republished by Safe Work Australia, and applies in New South Wales (NSW) under clause 5 of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2017.
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Consider different ways of working

• Reschedule work so the hot tasks are performed during the cooler part of the day.
• Reduce the time spent doing hot tasks.
• Arrange for more workers to do the job.
• Provide extra rest breaks in a cool area
  

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Check in with employees

• Make sure workers have access to cool water and stay hydrated.
• Monitor the temperature. While there's no maximum temperature set under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 or the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017, for a worker to stop working - some workplaces may have their own policy around this. Check what your policy is.
• Regularly check if workers are showing signs and symptoms of heat illness (see signs and symptoms).

Consider transport options
Public transport could be affected by the weather so look at different options for getting to and from work.
If possible, work at a different location that is out of the heat.

Cover up & drink water
Wear hats and light clothing that still provide sun protection.

• Have cool drinking water close to where you are working.
• Drink water, even if you aren't thirsty - every 15 minutes.

Source:  worksafe.vic.gov.au.

Working in heat can be hazardous and can cause harm to workers in both indoor and outdoor work environments.
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A construction company has been convicted and fined $650,000 after its failure to maintain a safe working environment or provide instruction led a labourer to fall to his death. Concorp Group was found guilty of two offences under Victoria’s Occupational Health and Safety Act by a County Court jury, following its failure to warn workers about an unsafe platform or put safety measures in place to mitigate the risk of fall, according to WorkSafe Victoria. The wooden platform — situated in an open shaft on the fourth floor of a multi-level apartment complex — was being used by the 54-year-old worker when it overturned, causing him to fall 12 metres to the ground. He died onsite a short time later, WorkSafe Victoria said.

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We're two years into our five year strategy to reduce exposure to hazardous chemicals, with formaldehyde and silica the top two focus areas.
  
 
The work so far

• We aim to interact with over 9,000 businesses by 2022, with 3,867 achieved.
• We’ve completed 523 manufactured stone visits at the 246 fabrication sites in NSW, and have had 448 interactions in other industries that work with silica.
• We held Manufactured Stone Industry forums in February 2019, a cross-industry silica symposium in May a state-wide roadshow from August to October, and have run over 40 industry presentations and a Dust Control Forum.
• We established a Manufactured Stone Industry Taskforce, which ran from July 2018 until June 2019.
• Our NSW Centre for Work Health and Safety (WHS) is currently conducting research into wearable detectors that could alert workers of the presence of silica dust.
• iCare are supporting the SafeWork NSW strategy and have conducted lung screening for 3563 workers last financial year 2018/19.