Hundreds of wood manufacturers lift their safety game

WorkSafe New Zealand has provided practical safety guidance to hundreds of wood manufacturing businesses, as part of a significant proactive focus on one of the country’s most dangerous sectors.  WorkSafe’s health and safety inspectors visited 657 businesses between January and March – from toy makers to joiners and wood processors – sharing education and guidance material with 83% of them.

“Many businesses were committed to improving safety and welcomed the chance to talk through their health and safety practices,” says WorkSafe’s project lead Savio Valladares. “These visits are about helping businesses get it right, not catching them out.”

However, the assessments also revealed persistent safety gaps. About half the businesses visited were required to make prompt changes to help prevent harm. The most common issues were inadequate machine guarding, missing or out-of-date hazardous substances inventories, and workers exposed to wood dust without effective controls such as ventilation and protective equipment.

“Manufacturing workers deserve to go home healthy and safe at the end of every day. These visits are about helping businesses and workers understand what good looks like – and most were receptive to that. While we can see progress is being made, too many are still missing safety essentials,” says Savio Valladares.

The findings reinforce why the sector is a priority focus for WorkSafe. Manufacturing has the highest rate and number of injuries resulting in more than a week off work of any sector – around 200 machinery-related injuries occur each year. An average of four to five manufacturing workers are killed at work each year – roughly two thirds of fatalities occur in food, wood, and metal product manufacturing.

WorkSafe will continue proactive visits to manufacturing businesses. From July to September, the focus shifts to food manufacturing.

WorkSafe’s role is to influence businesses and workers to meet their responsibilities and keep people healthy and safe.

Read WorkSafe’s guidance on managing manufacturing risks

Source & image credit: WorkSafe NZ