Engineered wood gains from new federal workplace safety initiative

A POWERFUL Federal workplace safety watchdog has been set loose in the construction sector to sniff out building products that fail to comply with Australian standards.

Under the OHS Accreditation Scheme, the Government is using its procurement power to ensure that anyone who wants to contract for government-funded building works over a certain value must reach a high standard of workplace safety.

Details of the scheme were outlined at an international construction safety conference in Melbourne by Federal Safety Commissioner Helen Marshall.
The Engineered Woods Products Association of Australasia took a high profile at the conference presenting EWPAA design manuals and fact sheets to 150 delegates who included construction industry leaders, building engineers, union safety instructors, university lecturers and academics.

“The conference reflected a strong commitment by government and private stakeholders to ensure building products meet Australian standards for structural safety, which is good news for the engineered wood products industry,” EWPAA general manger Simon Dorries said.

“We have been concerned for some time about increasing quantities of imported plywood that fails to conform to Australian standards and in many instances does not have the structural strength of true certified plywood. Some of these products, such as LVL scaffold planks and high-emission plywoods, are misrepresented by false labelling.”

Mr Dorries said the Government’s OHS accreditation scheme would put these products under closer scrutiny and EWPAA was ready to cooperate with the safety commissioner’s office to help improve performance in the building and construction sector.

EWPAA product awareness information will be added to the scheme’s OHS information resource base which includes best practice guidance, fit for purpose and case studies.

Helen Marshall said as Federal Safety Commissioner she was committed to doing all she could to prevent the loss of lives on building sites.
“We have 9% of the Australian workforce in the building and construction industry, but 24% of the fatalities,” she said.

“The most significant tool my office has at its disposal for driving this cultural change for safety is the Australian Government Building and Construction OHS Accreditation Scheme.

“The scheme is not just an administrative arrangement; it is set in legislation as part of the Building and Construction Industry Improvement Act 2005.
“It is a legislative requirement that the head contractor for any building work funded by the Government must be accredited under the scheme. Government agencies will be in breach of the legislation if this doesn’t happen.

“The scheme allows the government to take advantage of its position as a major client of the building and construction industry and to make sure projects are delivered not only on budget and on time, but also safely.

“This leverage is becoming more and more significant as opportunities for private projects dry up and government contracts become critical for business.
“At the moment the value of the projects covered by the scheme is around $10 billion, but I expect this to grow considerably in the coming months. Overall, we are tracking about $30 billion in projects that are either at tender or at the concept stage.”

Ms Marshall produced some sobering figures at the conference: In 2007-08, workplaces primarily engaged in the construction industry accounted for the largest number of notified fatalities (38).

During 2006-07 (the latest figures available), an average of 39 employees a day sustained a serious work-related injury or disease requiring one week or more off work (22 claims per 1000 workers).

Victoria’s Minister for Roads and Ports Tim Pallas officially launched the Engineers Australia Safer Construction Design Stage Implementation Workshop at the conference, which was hosted by Melbourne’s RMIT University.

The university invited EWPAA to give a lecture to students on engineered wood products at the university’s School of Property, Construction and Project Management.

 Federal Safety Commissioner Helen Marshall discusses EWPAA technical information with keynote speakers Chris Webb, director, Construction and Utilities Program, WorkSafe Victoria, and Barry Sherriff, lead partner of national OHS practice Freehills, Melbourne.