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“The Shire acknowledges the need for improvement and has developed action plans to address all issues.”
Years of problems with the Shire’s handling of chemicals have been exposed by Worksafe.
Shire’s safety problems exposed
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routine visit by Worksafe has seen the Shire of Bridgetown-Greenbushes issued with Improvement Notices and Prohibition Notices about the unsafe storage of chemicals, and noncertified workers operating machinery. The Shire admits that it’s known about the problem of non-certified workers for months after carrying out an audit late last year. Safe storage of fuels, fertilisers and pesticides, along with traffic management issues in the depot have also been a problem for the Shire for years since the 2022 fires devastated the depot. Shire CEO Garry Adams says certification of workers was already arranged in the week after the March 5th visit and that its staff are currently only operating machinery for which they hold the required certificate of competency. The Shire refused an interview with the Bridgetown Greenbushes Star, but in a written statement said there had been no disruption to its services, and it didn’t anticipate disruptions in the future.
Mr Adams blamed “legacy systems” for not adequately capturing and managing certification for its employees New System He said a new cloud-based Work Health and Safety management system was now recording certifications and notifying staff and supervisors before their certification expired. The system, Skytrust, will also give staff the ability to report incidents and hazards immediately through iPads while they’re in the field. This will improve management’s visibility over actions taken to address any issues, according to the Shire. Training in Skytrust for Shire staff commenced late last year, with the system currently being rolled out across the organisation. Work, Health and Safety Officer Since late last year, the Shire also has a designated Work, Health and Safety Officer who has been working across the organisation to bring its safety standards up to industry benchmarks.
Some of Worksafe’s Improvement Notices and Prohibition Notices raised issues that the Shire already knew about and had plans to fix. The long-standing problem of traffic management and chemical storage is already being addressed and will be better managed once the new purposebuilt depot facility is completed later in the year. Need for Improvement The Shire said it acknowledges the need for improvement and has developed action plans to address all issues identified within the timeframes required by WorkSafe, Mr Adams stated. Internal Health and Safety Representatives will also receive additional training to ensure regular inspections identify these types of issues and that they are reported and addressed in a timely manner. The Shire said it views WorkSafe’s visit as a positive and helpful step in continuing to improve its safety culture, which continues to be a key focus area for the current Council and Executive Team.
See Editorial page 4