Safety improvements expected from Woolworths

09 September 2010

Woolworths has committed to safety upgrades after a worker escaped injury only to be soaked in olive oil when boxes of bottles fell onto his specialised forklift.

The June 2008 incident at the Woolworth’s Wodonga distribution centre occurred when an unlicensed and unsupervised worker was operating a reach truck (similar to a forklift) to move pallets.

Although the worker didn’t suffer physical injuries, olive oil had to be washed from his face and eyes.

Woolworths and subsidiary company, Woolstar, (which also employs staff for the distribution centre) have entered into a legal agreement with WorkSafe which requires them to carry out a range of safety improvements around forklifts and reach trucks.

The undertaking is allowed for as an alternative to prosecution under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004, and is enforceable through the courts if its conditions are not met.

The incident occurred when the worker tried to use the reach truck to return a pallet to its place in an eight metre high rack.

As he did so, the reach truck’s mast hooked on to the pallet above the empty position, causing the load from the pallet he was raising to fall. Glass bottles of olive oil broke open on the roof of the truck, soaking him in oil.

“The worker operating the reach truck had only completed a day of basic training. He was shown how to use a truck by another storeperson – but after a few hours’ supervision, he was left to operate it on his own,” Manufacturing and Logistics Director, Ross Pilkington, said.

“Clearly he shouldn’t have been operating a reach truck – it wasn’t safe for him or his fellow workers, and it was pure luck that no-one was injured.

“Woolworths and Woolstar have an obligation to make sure all trainee forklift operators are supervised by a licensed operator, and that trainees only operate equipment unsupervised when they’ve been deemed competent,” he said.

Details of the undertaking, including timeframes, are published on WorkSafe’s website.

Activities to improve safety undertaken by Woolworths and Woolstar include the following:

• An independent review of health and safety systems at the distribution centre and an implementation plan for corrective actions;
• A physical hazards audit and a plan for corrective actions;
• A review of the Woolworths/Woolstar forklift licensing system;
• Publication of a Forklift Licensing Guidance Note by Woolworths/Woolstar, which will be presented to the Wodonga Chamber of Commerce;
• Publish an article regarding the incident in Woolstar/Woolworths internal newsletter and an external industry newsletter/publication;
• Present a free safety seminar at WorkSafe Week or equivalent, presenting a case study on the circumstances of the incident, and the measures taken since the incident;
• Install mast cameras on to all reach truck forklifts at all their supermarket distribution centres to improve visibility for operators.

Woolworths and Woolstar are also making donations totalling $90,000 to The Royal Children’s Hospital; the Wodonga Health Services Emergency Department; and the Institute for Safety, Compensation, and Recovery Research (for a research project around manual handling of products in distribution centres).