Death of a Worker leads to Health and Safety Review for the

Shearing Industry

Background

In November 2007 an unfortunate and very sad incident resulted in the death of 19-year-old female shed hand Julia McLean. This tragedy has highlighted a gap in the understanding and communication of first aid and emergency response in the shearing industry, as part of employee health and safety in shearing sheds.

Ms McLean’s death at a shearing shed near Walgett, NSW was the result of acute lung disease, most likely caused by Goodpasture’s Syndrome.

Ms McLean started work at the shed on a Monday the Daily Liberal story from 3/7/2010 wrote “Ms Mclean arrived at the property on a Sunday night in November of 2007. She did not eat much from Wednesday that week until she died on Friday.  Ms McLean had been vomiting the night before her death and complained of being sick the next morning…. She collapsed at work on the Friday and was taken to the living quarters. After lunch, a co-worker, found Ms McLean on the floor of her bedroom barely able to breathe. Ms McLean’s boyfriend, was alerted and after making attempts to help her, he eventually put her in the car and took her to hospital. But by that stage, it was too late. “

Coroner’s findings

Deputy State Coroner, Magistrate Hugh Dillon found that Ms McLean died of Acute Necrotising Pulmonary Disease, which manifested itself while she was working as a shearing hand.

The Magistrate concluded that medical attention should have been sought a lot sooner and he questioned why no one used the landline in the workshop to call an ambulance.

Coroner’s Recommendations
1. Magistrate Dillon recommended that the Workcover Authority of NSW produce and disseminate through appropriate sheep industry bodies, such as the Shearing Contractors Association, the Australian Workers’ Union, the Farmers bodies and TAFE Colleges, an industry alert or fact sheet incorporating the content of Section 12 of the Workcover Health and Safety at Work (2002) Guide for the shearing industry in relation to Emergency Response and First Aid.

2. Magistrate Dillon recommended that the Workcover Authority of NSW consider regulating to require owners of active sheep shearing sheds to display signs outlining emergency response procedures and the location of first aid kits and emergency communications.

3. Magistrate Dillon recommended that the Shearing Contractors Association of NSW, Farmer bodies and AWU advise shearing contractors of the desirability of training at least one member of their teams in the provision of First Aid, and of the need to alert members of their teams as to the locations of First Aid facilities and to identify to all members of their teams a means of communication with emergency services in the event of emergencies.

What this means to you, the Employer
The directions given by the Coroner to Workcover and in effect Employers, reiterates two things

• The employees safety is paramount
• The employer is responsible for their safety

As a result of the Coroner’s directions to Workcover, you need to examine your processes around health and safety in the shearing shed with three simple, obvious measures you need to ensure are in place: 

1. Improved Communication process; appropriate communication equipment,
2. First aid kits available, their whereabouts well indicated and content well maintained,
3. Always having one team member trained in first aid

Note

In general terms the health and safety laws do not ‘prescribe’ the exact steps and measures but present the overarching requirement to prove that you maintain the right processes and environment to ensure a workers safety. It is when an injury occurs that you will have to prove that you have taken the correct steps and actions to prevent these accidents and injuries from occurring.

What SCAA will do to help

1. Provide you the FACT SHEET

§         Download and print from here

First aid emergency response wool harvesting FACT SHEET (187 KB)

§         A paper copy will be sent with next Sheepo

2. Look at coordinating First Aid courses for you and your staff to attend.

3. Source a poster style communication that you can display in your workplace.

4. Highlight as a requirement to mention in “Start of shed talk” for next edition
   of Tally book and any other appropriate printed material.

Workcover NSW Health and Safety at Work (2002) Guide for the shearing industry

Where SCAA has provided you (in the Resource folder for NSW members and some other states without a specific guide) with the Workcover Health and Safety at Work (2002) Guide for the shearing industry, please read Section 12 in relation to Emergency Response and First Aid. The coroner refers to this guide in his recommendations.  If you would like a copy please contact us and we can arrange this for you.

Australian and New Zealand Woolharvesting Safety Group (ANZWSG)

The major focus of the Woolharvesting Safety Resource Centre for the period 2 Nov 2009 – 15 June 2010 has been the continued development of the Australian and New Zealand Woolharvesting Safety Group (ANZWSG). In particular, the development of an Injury and Claims Management Program for the shearing industry and the financial sustainability of a health and safety service for the shearing industry.

 Through the leadership of the AWU and SCAA, with the support of WorkCover NSW and WorkSafe Victoria in Australia and led in New Zealand by the NZSCA and ACC; this group and its work has developed. The work includes safety improvements and injury management.

 In this phase of the project there has also been considerable work done to establish a method in which the industry can self-fund the work being done by this project.

 Injury & Claims Management Service

The Injury & Claims Management Service initiative is aimed at organising an injury and claims management service for the shearing industry. For shearers, shed staff, contractors and farmers. Key industry stakeholders recognise the shortfalls of the current processes and support a solution. A less complicated application of the rates of workers compensation would be a step in the right direction for improving safety and claims performance in this industry.

 BoomBox Project

The BoomBox Project aimed at getting some positive action on the shearing board at the start of shearing at each shed. Over thirty of these start-up safety tool boxes hae been distributed to SCAA members throughout Victoria and New South Wales (as WorkCover NSW provided the start-up funding for this project). These BoomBoxes include a noise level meter with straight forward instructions in how to get a noise “snap-shot.” They include a simple safety clutch torque tester for correct testing and adjusting of the safety spring tension. This BoomBox Shearing Start-up Safety Kit project is being done in tandem with the formal shearing noise induced hearing research being done in New Zealand. The feedback and results from these BoomBoxes have been collated and evaluated (Please click on the link below for the evaluation of this project).

 For more information on the above please click on the link to the Project Evaluation Report.

Get the Latest News

WSRC Project Evaluation (712 KB)

The Latest Newsflash

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