November 2006 - Craig Williams represents Daken on WorkCover consultative committee on workplace safety

WorkCover NSW has developed a new safety initiative in response to calls by industry for more practical assistance in managing workplace safety.

The Industry Solutions Program involves the establishment of consultative committees made up of representatives from WorkCover NSW, worker and employer groups, manufactures and designers. The first phase of the program is focused on safety solutions for the construction and rural industries.

As a long established significant supplier of rural equipment, Daken was asked to join the consultative committee. We are pleased to announce that Craig Williams as Technical Manager has been appointed as the Daken representative. The photo shows Craig and the rest of the committee at their first meeting.

The committees are addressing 3 pieces of equipment, one of which is post drivers. They will be recommending practical solutions to specific hazards. With the aim of being practical and innovative it is expected that this will go a long way towards helping manufacturers, designers and employers identify and address a range of safety and compliance issues.

Commenting on the issues surrounding post drivers Craig Williams said, "There have certainly been a number of injuries, and even a death, to workers using this equipment. The problem is that you need to lift a 200 kilogram dolly into the air and drop it onto a post. It is difficult to introduce elaborate guarding without interfering with the operation of the equipment. Daken is at the forefront of operational safety with their King Hitter units, and certainly one of the few suppliers who have a dedicated focus on safety compliance."

"It has been a very interesting and worthwhile project. We are looking at every aspect, from how better to guard a post driver, to how should it be stored, what should be in the manuals and what warnings should be on the equipment itself. Safety guidelines have been put together with the aim of assisting manufacturers, suppliers, users, and WorkCover Authorities to establish a baseline, which was non-existent before."

"Whilst the program is being driven by NSW at this stage, WorkCover in Victoria and Queensland are likely to quickly adopt the Guideline. More industry solution committees will be brought together to focus on other equipment issues in the marketplace, if the work of these three committees is judged to have been a success, which I believe it will be," concluded Craig.