Case Study - GB Masonry Pty Ltd
Workplace Health and Safety
GB Masonry, a General Member of the Concrete Masonry Association of Australia, has requested that the following Case Study (written by them) be published on the CMAA website.  They consider that this report could be of interest to other CMAA members and concrete masonry manufacturers in general.

GB Masonry’s Safety Renaissance

Introduction:

GB Masonry has been a part of the block manufacturing industry for the past 25 years and our Heritage masonry range of block is a unique product of sandstone style masonry blocks, which we sell to a niche market. GB Masonry Pty Ltd has numerous resellers in Queensland & New South Wales.

Moment of Change:

On 15^th November 2004 an employee of GB Masonry Pty Ltd was injured when his hand became trapped in a concrete block making machine at the company’s premises in Gympie, Queensland.  Inspectors from the Department of Industrial Relations investigated the incident and they concluded that GB Masonry Pty Ltd had breached Sections 24(1) and 28(1) of the Queensland Workplace Health & Safety Act 1995, and as a consequence, improvement notices were issued to GB Masonry Pty Ltd from the Department of Industrial Relations in regard to the following non-compliance issues:

• Machine Guarding – Unguarded plant
• Airborne Dust – Work practices
• Hazardous Substances – No Risk Assessments
• Forklift – Work practices
• Electrical Inspections –Production/Workshop Areas.

GB Masonry Pty Ltd, like so many other manufacturing operations were safety conscious but unable to show evidence of safety compliance to a third party regulatory representative.

Subsequently GB Masonry Pty Ltd complied with the improvement notices issued in the period stipulated by Department of Industrial Relations.

Safety Management System:

One of the first implementations made by GB Masonry Pty Ltd was the introduction of a Workplace Health & Safety Committee with representatives for both the employee & employer.  This Committee would become the driving force to introduce and insure changes to the workplace health & safety practices/procedures/auditing safety management system of GB Masonry Pty Ltd.

Since the incident GB Masonry Pty Ltd has been working towards the ASNZS 4801:2001 Workplace Health & Safety Certification which was awarded to GB Masonry Pty Ltd on 16^th November, 2005.

The Workplace Health & Safety implementation and enforcement has been directed by the Workplace Health & Safety Committee and monitored by the Company's Directors and Shareholders.  External audits from QMS Certification Services, a JASANZ accredited company, have been vital steps in regard to the outcomes that have been achieved within the last 12 months.

There were a number of steps collating into one large undertaking to change the safety practices within GB Masonry Pty Ltd.

Implementation:

Step 1 – Assessment

• No formal structure i.e. No Occupational Health & Safety Management System
• Workplace Health & Safety Officer not very effective due to other work commitments
• Limited induction
• No toolbox meetings, dissemination of information
• No Safety training
• No Safety Committee
• Ad hoc – safety left to workers own initiative.

Step 2 - Implementation

• Ensure sufficient guarding & safety precautions on Plant & Equipment
• Appoint Workplace Health & Safety Committee
• Safety Check Lists introduced for all sections of the company structure
• Risk Assessments compiled/implemented
• Training /Safety Manuals developed for Employees/Sub-Contractors
• MSDS Charts compiled
• Workplace Health & Safety Policies & Procedures Manuals compiled
• Health monitoring/surveillance implemented
• Legal Registrar and Standards compiled/reviewed on a scheduled basis

Implementation – Key Issue

Interaction between employees and Workplace Health & Safety Committee members for fact finding/information gathering/implementation issues was a key area in implementing the Workplace Health & Safety Management System.  Information needed to be given and received by key staff members to ensure that the correct safety practices were introduced to the different sections of the company structure.

Block Machine Operator

• Operation & Safety Manuals compiled and implemented
• Upgrade of plant & equipment i.e. guarding/shut down buttons/electric trip gates etc
• Safety/Improvement check sheets introduced on a daily basis
• Training Matrix introduced (Competency compliance)
• Risk/Hazard Assessments compiled for auditing purposes
• Production Meetings were organized on a scheduled basis
• Health Monitoring – dust and noise levels assessed by independent advisors on a scheduled basis.

Mixer Operator

• Operation & Safety manuals compiled and implemented
• Upgrade of plant & equipment i.e. guarding/shut down buttons/electric trip gates etc
• Safety/Improvement check sheets introduced on a daily basis
• Training Matrix introduced (Competency compliance)
• Risk/Hazard Assessments compiled for auditing purposes
• Health Monitoring – dust and noise levels assessed by independent advisors on a scheduled basis.

Forklift/Loader Operators

• Safety/Improvement check sheets introduced on a weekly basis
• Implement tar sealing to yard surface, introduce bollards & pedestrian walkways, change tyre/seat profiles etc
• Training Matrix introduced (Ticketed Forklift/Loader Operators)
• Risk/Hazard Assessments compiled for auditing purposes
• Toolbox meetings were organized on a scheduled basis
• Forklift Operations Standards were assessed/implemented/reviewed
• Health Monitoring – dust and noise levels assessed by independent advisors on a scheduled basis and also includes scheduled sessions from an Ergonomist.

Workshop/Maintenance Employees

• Safety/Improvement check sheets introduced
• Test & Tag was implemented on all workshop electrical equipment/hoists/cranes
• Safety procedures/requirements were reviewed for Fire Extinguishers
• Risk/Hazard Assessments compiled for auditing purposes
• Training Matrix introduced (Competency compliance)
• Health Monitoring – dust and noise levels assessed by independent advisors on a scheduled basis.

Stackers/Cubers

• Safety Induction review/reimplementation
• Manual Handling training on a scheduled basis
• Toolbox meetings were organized on a scheduled basis
• Risk/Hazard Assessments compiled for auditing purposes
• Training Matrix introduced (Competency compliance)
• Safety/improvement check sheets introduced
• Health Monitoring – dust and noise levels assessed by independent advisors on a scheduled basis and also includes scheduled sessions from an Ergonomist and Occupational Health Hygienist.

Step 3 – Assessment

• Workplace Health & Safety Committee meetings minuted/reviewed/implemented
• Submissions made by the Workplace Health & Safety Committee to the Board of Directors for review/assessment/implementation/direction/guidance
• Internal Audit/Review – WH & S Policies/Procedures/Risk Assessments/Legal Register
• External Audit by an Independent Auditor on a scheduled basis.

General awareness of Workplace Health & Safety regulations within the Company through monthly toolbox meetings has been a huge step forward, and with the Company's directors and shareholders committed to the implementation of the Workplace Health & Safety Certification, GB Masonry Pty Ltd has taken giant steps towards attaining their goals which were set 12 months ago.  GB Masonry is aware that Workplace Health & Safety is a continual commitment towards safety within the workplace.

Benefits of Safety:

Benefits from the Workplace Health & Safety implementation plan, have been surprising considering the amount of resources required for such a project.  The health and safety of all employees/contractors and visitors to the GB Masonry site have become one of the company's priorities and has equal importance to the quality of products produced by a rapidly expanding Queensland company.  The benefits to Company directors & shareholders, is in the knowledge that everything is being done that should be done and that a safe environment for all employees and members of the public who visit the GB Masonry site have now been addressed and will continue to be monitored and upgraded.

The employees of GB Masonry benefit with the knowledge that they are working within a company that will always strive to enforce safe practices, safe work environment and health monitoring.

GB Masonry has found this undertaking to be quite challenging, but the results far outweigh the problems that all companies face from time to time.  Time and resources are the largest stumbling blocks in trying to implement such a challenging project in such a small amount of time.

Funding for the upgrades required for the company's plant and equipment to meet requirements specified within the Company's Hazard & Audit Assessments were made from the company's own profits without any government funding, which over the past year has been quite a large undertaking in regard to both funds and resources.

Benefits:

• Safe work practices for all employees & sub-contractors (legal requirements)
• Safety Checks on all equipment on a regular basis (less down time for machinery)
• Health monitoring for employees, sub-contractors (dust/noise)
• Policy & procedure manuals to be used by all employees/sub-contractors (legal requirement)
• Training employees to incorporate safe work practices (less down time injuries for employees)
• External Audit (to ensure that GB Masonry is working within the Workplace Health & Safety Guidelines).

Conclusions:

Challenges -

• A substantial amount of money was spent in ensuring that plant and equipment were upgraded to meet safety requirements
• Time was another factor which was a challenge as the Workplace Health & Safety Committee  spent a considerable amount of time implementing and overseeing the project.
• Resistance to change was also a challenge to some employees.

Unexpected Outcomes -

• GB Masonry went on to incorporate Rehabilitation policy and procedures and has since been accredited to handle all Rehabilitation within the company by Q-Comp (The Workers’ Compensation Regulatory Authority)

Recommendation:

The directors, shareholder, workplace health & safety committee and employees of GB Masonry would like to encourage other Queensland based companies to implement and upgrade their workplace health & safety practices and discover for themselves the added benefits that come with complying with the legal requirements necessary to operate a successful and safe company.

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