At JTA we value the safety and wellbeing of our employees, customers and suppliers. Currently we are actively monitoring the Coronavirus (COVID-19) situation and we are implementing our business contingency plans to keep our employees and clients safe.

We’ve compiled a list of links that is useful for businesses in fire affected areas to help manage the risks to people and property. Please let us know if there are any other links you think we should add.

Jeremy Trotman, JTA founder and principal Occupational Hygienist, recently collaborated with two other Australian Occupational Hygienists to run a full day Noise workshop at the 4th Indonesian Industrial Hygiene Association Conference (IIHA) in Bali on 9-11th September. Our Indonesian colleagues are facing major challenges in improving worker health and Jeremy said “It was most rewarding to be able to assist them a little bit with assessing and controlling noise, which remains one of the greatest causes of industrial injury here in Australia and no doubt other countries as well.”

Lead is a naturally occurring metal used in industry. In the past lead was added to petrol and paints. As it can be hazardous when inhaled or swallowed its use falls under the OHS/WHS regulations. Last year Safe Work Australia lowered the blood lead levels in Australian workplaces and this has now filtered through to changes in regulations in individual states as well.

We have recently invested in new state of the art, noise and vibration monitoring equipment in order to provide you with the best service and advice possible.

WorkSafe inspectors in Victoria are checking construction sites to make sure fall risks are being controlled including if scaffolds are safe and fit for purpose. Construction is a known high fall risk sector accounting for 37% of falls-related fatalities however all workplaces where falls are a risk need to consider their controls. Sadly, according to Safe Work Australia, more than one in 10 work-related fatalities are caused by a fall from height and, as recently as the 3rd February this year, a serious accident involving scaffolding was in the news. 

Organisations have a duty to ensure they provide a safe workplace, so far as reasonably practicable and this duty extends to managing exposure to bushfire smoke. Workers with greater sensitivity, such as those with asthma, cardiac or pulmonary conditions or those conducting strenuous or prolonged work outside are at greatest risk, especially in hazardous levels. WorkSafe Victoria has released guidance on bushfire smoke which outlines the general approach organisations should take to managing their workers exposure to bushfire smoke.

When the Victorian Noise Compliance Code was updated in 2018, it raised the bar for WorkSafe expectations of noise assessments. Of particular note was the requirement to use dosimetry to measure personal sound exposure for mobile employees and in areas difficult or unsafe to use hand held sound level meters.

JTA has now taken the next step in leading the industry by incorporating state of the art dosimetry equipment into our assessments. These new dosimeters can do all of the functions standard dosimeters can but with some valuable extra capabilities such as recording octave band data, audio, high vibration levels, statistical noise levels and all while being intrinsically safe.

Recently much attention has been focused on silica and coal dust exposure. This is due to the multiple positive Silicosis diagnoses from employees working in the engineered stone industry and the spate of mine dust related diseases in Queensland (as reported by ABC news in February). The reason for the recent spate of these illnesses is likely to be due to an absence of control measures or inadequacy of implemented control measures.