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SafeWork NSW releases Lindsay undertaking detail

Enforceable undertaking after fatal accident spurs Lindsay safety tech rollout

 

Lindsay Australia put safety augmentation in its tug trucks and pressed the accelerator on its linehaul driver safety technology in the lead-up to acceptance of an enforceable undertaking (EU), a SafeWork NSW document reveals.

Lindsay Australia, which had no prior work health and safety convictions before a fatal 2015 depot accident, agreed to accept the EU under the Work Health & Safety Act.

The accident occurred when a worker was engaged in the coupling and uncoupling of A- and B-double trailers using a tug truck at a western Sydney depot.

During the procedure, the tug truck and trailer combination moved and the worker was struck and crushed by the wheels of the B trailer.

In response to the depot-safety aspect, the company designed and installed an alarm in the tug truck that sounds if the driver leaves the vehicle without applying the maxi brake, the document says.

The company’s safety documents were “reviewed and amended where appropriate”.

It also implemented a new dock control procedure and conducted tool box talks in relation to the procedure.

This initiative cost $19,000, while $5,000 was spent installing seat activated alarms in 12 tug trucks following an inspection of all tug trucks at its depots.


Read about Lindsay Australia’s acceptance of the EU, here


The document states that, in anticipation of the EU’s acceptance, the company accelerated a trial over two months of Guardian Seeing Machines (GSM) technology – aimed at combating fatigue – in its NSW and Queensland linehaul fleet.

“The Trial was implemented in conjunction with key stakeholders including driver committees, management and involved consultation with family members (who broadly supported the safety initiative),” the EU document says.

“It was essential that drivers recognise that the system is a safety system and not a surveillance system.”

That trial is complete and the hardware is being installed over the next 24 months in its 300 trucks.

After 25 months the company is to provide and evaluation report to SafeWork NSW.

Installation and external monitoring over three years in NSW operating linehaul fleet of 180 units plus ongoing internal costs of running the technology over that time is estimated at a touch more than $1.016 million.

The company will spend $50,000 on an externally sourced WHS leadership training program that it will also report on.

Its tug-truck operations safety audit program, to be completed over 12 months will set it back $20,000.

Beyond all that, Lindsay has agreed to the development and Implementation of an augmented reality (AR) technology training tool in conjunction with SafeWork NSW and an industry advisory group, with a view to providing workers with “an engaging sensory experience that visually identifies and showcases the consequences of unsafe behaviours as well as promoting safe behaviours relevant to a scenario”.

This aspect relates to SafeWork NSW’s Transport Work Health and Safety Sector Plan 2022 – itself in response to the Australian Work Health and Safety Strategy 2012-2022 – which aims to address six high-risk areas:

  • at risk workers
  • musculoskeletal disorders
  • working at heights
  • mental and physical health
  • traffic management
  • ancillary (non-driving) tasks.

Finally, Lindsay has agreed to a radio media campaign strategy on maxi-brake use and road safety costing and estimated $60,000, along with a $50,000 trailer advertising campaign, promoting the use of seat belts by truck drivers and avoiding mobile phone use while driving.

The total estimated value of the undertaking is put at $1,496,008.

Within the document, in a statement on the company’s response to the deceased worker’s family, Lindsay states: “Lindsay Australia deeply regrets that the incident on 10 October 2015 occurred.

“The incident has had a profound effect on workers at the depot and across the business.

“The CEO met with the worker’s family and did all they could to support the family under tragic circumstances.”

 

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