Foundries and metal fabrication

Everything for the foundries and metal fabrication industry in one place.

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.

Your obligations and duties to create a safe work environment.

Consultation between employers, workers and HSRs is essential.

Understand how to become an HSR, the powers of an HSR and an employer's obligations to HSRs.

Hazardous manual handling in manufacturing

This video provides useful information on what hazardous manual handling is, how to identify risks and where to start with reducing or eliminating the risks in your manufacturing workplace.

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Find useful information and services to help your workplace in your industry.

Metal manufacturing

Hazards

Hazard 1
Lifting and bending
Provide appropriate mechanical aids and equipment (eg mechanical systems such as vacuum lifters, magnetic lifters, height-adjustable stillage and pallet lifters) to lift heavy weights, automatic in-feed, appropriate equipment (eg forklifts, load shifting equipment to move pallets) and ensure they are used properly and maintained in accordance with manufacturer specifications.

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.

4 per cent of the injuries were to a persons abdomen.

12 per cent of the injuries were to a persons shoulder.

9 per cent of the injuries were to a persons arm.

14 per cent of the injuries were to a persons back.
Hazard 2
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.

18 per cent of the injuries were to a persons ear.
Hazard 3
Pushing and pulling
Provide appropriate mechanical aids and equipment (eg suitable mobile or overhead crane for bundled loads, magnetic lifters, forklifts, trolleys, dollies, tugs, or conveyors for shifting heavy loads) and ensure they are used properly and maintained in accordance with manufacturer specifications.

4 per cent of the injuries were to a persons abdomen.

12 per cent of the injuries were to a persons shoulder.
Hazard 4
Slips trips and falls
Ensure floor surfaces, stairways and access ways are level, non-slip or slip-resistant and kept dry and clear of clutter and obstructions.

Provide sufficient lighting for stairs, access ways and any work that involves using ladders.

Ensure there is edge protection on any access platforms (eg gantries and walkways with barriers on or around high machines).

Clean up spills immediately.

Regularly tidy and remove clutter so it does not accumulate.

6 per cent of the injuries were to a persons knee.

12 per cent of the injuries were to a persons shoulder.
Hazard 5
Using hand tools
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.

Use equipment to support the weight of the tool.

Provide appropriate personal protective equipment and clothing (eg overalls, long trousers, long sleeves, safety boots, gloves, welding masks, respirators).

12 per cent of the injuries were to a persons shoulder.

9 per cent of the injuries were to a persons arm.

18 per cent of the injuries were to a persons hand / fingers.
Hazard 6
Using machinery and equipment
Ensure all machinery has fixed guarding, or interlocked guarding where access is required. Allow rundown time until the part is stopped.

Isolate all potential sources of energy (e.g. electrical, hydraulic, pneumatic, gravity) using fixed guards, or interlocked guards where access is required.

Provide appropriate personal protective equipment (e.g. 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 (e.g. long pants, boots).

Train employees how to use equipment and protective equipment and clothing safely (e.g. don't use gloves where there's a risk they will catch on moving machinery, use gloves when working with hot equipment).

9 per cent of the injuries were to a persons arm.

18 per cent of the injuries were to a persons hand / fingers.

'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

News and updates

Tuesday 30 June 2026

WorkSafe has charged a chemical manufacturer following a catastrophic fire that caused extensive damage to a Derrimut factory in July 2024.

Thursday 25 June 2026

A garlic bread wholesaler has been convicted and fined a record $3.4 million for workplace manslaughter after a worker fell to his death at a bakery in Reservoir.

Friday 29 May 2026

WorkSafe is placing Victoria's manufacturing capital in the safety spotlight as data reveals one in ten fatalities and work-related injuries in the industry happen in a single postcode.

Foundries and metal fabrication

COVID-19 and employer responsibilities

OHS responsibilities and duties

Consultation

Health and safety representatives (HSRs)

Hazardous manual handling in manufacturing

You might also need

Insurance, claims and recovery

Employer obligations

Workplace resources

Understand WorkSafe

Injury hotspots

Metal manufacturing

Hazards

Lifting and bending

Noise

Pushing and pulling

Slips trips and falls

Using hand tools

Using machinery and equipment

'If you are injured at work' poster

Gendered violence.

It comes in many forms.

News and updates

WorkSafe charges manufacturer after Derrimut factory fire

Bakery fined record $3.4 million for workplace manslaughter

Project 3175 targets manufacturing harm hotspot

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