Automotive

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COVID-19 and employer responsibilities

Employers must identify whether there is a risk to health of employees from exposure to coronavirus at their workplace. Where a risk to health is identified at a workplace, employers must, so far as is reasonably practicable, eliminate or reduce the risk.

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Automotive

These are the most common injuries and hazards for people working in the automotive industry, as shown by injury claims.

Safety solutions

WorkSafe expects employers to have safety solutions in place to protect workers from the most common sources of injury.

Hazards and solutions

Hazard 1
Falls from machinery and equipment
Install gantries and walkways with barriers on or around high machines.

Fit self-closing access gates to elevated work platforms to reduce the risk of falling from machinery or equipment.
Hazard 2
Lifting bending and twisting while handling materials
Provide appropriate mechanical aids and equipment (eg jigs, robots, cranes, vacuum lifters, hoists, height-adjustable workstations) and ensure they are used properly and maintained in accordance with manufacturer specifications.

Use appropriate equipment when moving pallets.

Train employees in the selection and use of any mechanical equipment and aids and safe handling methods (eg work is done between shoulder and mid-thigh height and with the elbows close to the body, work upright where possible).

Ensure employees are not exposed to repetitive work for long periods (eg by using job rotation, work variation, providing sit-stand stools and anti-fatigue mats) or work that requires a significant amount of high force.

Design work so that people can maintain upright natural postures as much as possible. Where this is not possible, provide personal protective equipment such as padded knee supports.
Hazard 3
Noise
Ensure employees are not exposed to noise that exceeds the exposure standard.

Arrange for a noise assessment if employees are exposed to excessive noise (eg workers have to raise their voices to communicate over a distance of one metre) and there is uncertainty as to whether employees exposure may have exceeded the noise exposure standard.

Eliminate or minimise the source of noise (eg enclose or isolate noisy machinery, reduce vibration, use barriers to absorb and screens to block the direct path of sound, use silencers on air exhausts, exhaust pneumatics out of the area, buy the quietest tools / machinery available).

Place warning signs in areas of excessive and continual noise (eg where employees exposure is likely to exceed the exposure standard).

Warn other workers nearby that you will be undertaking noisy work and advise them to move away or wear hearing protection.

Provide hearing equipment, ensure it is worn at all times, and provide employees with audiometric testing. Employers should provide a choice of different types of hearing protection appropriate to the noise level in the workplace.
Hazard 4
Pushing and pulling
Provide appropriate mechanical aids and equipment (eg forklifts, trolleys, dollies, tugs, or conveyors for shifting heavy loads) and ensure they are used properly and maintained in accordance with manufacturer specifications.
Hazard 5
Slips and trips
Ensure floor surfaces are level, non-slip or slip-resistant and kept dry and clear of clutter and obstructions.

Regularly tidy and remove clutter so it does not accumulate.

Ensure materials, processing aids, tools and equipment are handled and positioned carefully to avoid tripping hazards.
Hazard 6
Using tools and machinery
Provide appropriate tools and machinery (eg ergonomically designed handheld power tools that are lightweight, low vibration, noise restricted and fitted with over-torque clutches) and ensure they are used properly and maintained in accordance with manufacturer specifications.

Fit machinery guards that provide the highest practicable level of protection (eg fixed guarding or interlocked guarding where access is required).

Provide appropriate personal protective equipment (eg hard hats, gloves that absorb impact energy, protection from sharp edges that is puncture resistant, hearing protection, respiratory protection, suitable eyewear).

Ensure employees wear appropriate personal protective clothing (eg long pants, boots).

Ensure employees do not wear gloves while operating rotating machinery.

Ensure employees don't use gloves where there's a risk they will catch on moving machinery.

'If you are injured at work' poster

Employers must display an 'if you are injured at work' poster in every workplace. You can download and print a poster in English as well as Arabic, Chinese simplified, Chinese traditional, Greek, Italian, Macedonian, Serbian, Spanish, Turkish and Vietnamese.

Download a poster

Automotive

OHS responsibilities and duties

Consultation

Health and safety representatives (HSRs)

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Insurance, claims and recovery

Employer obligations

Workplace resources

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Injury hotspots

Automotive

Safety solutions

Hazards and solutions

Falls from machinery and equipment

Lifting bending and twisting while handling materials

Noise

Pushing and pulling

Slips and trips

Using tools and machinery

'If you are injured at work' poster

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