Museum aims to improve safety levels

OTAGO Museum is making health and safety improvements at its workshop, partly in response to stricter workplace safety laws.

The museum is also mindful of a Dunedin District Court case last month, in which about $500,000 in fines and reparations was incurred after a man’s arm was nearly severed while he was decommissioning an Xray machine at Dunedin Hospital.

The SDHB was taken to court earlier this year after the man was severely injured while removing and demolishing the 30yearold Xray machine, on May 24, 2017.

The Southern District Health Board was fined $225,000 and ordered to pay reparation of $25,000, while Fire and Mech Contracting Limited (FMCL) was fined $247,500 and reparation of $25,000.

The SDHB, alongside subcontractor FMCL, had previously pleaded guilty to two charges under the Health and Safety at Work Act.

Museum commercial manager Murray Bayly said a new bandsaw with upgraded safety features had already been installed at the museum workshop.

A new desk saw, also offering improved safety, was also being added.

Three extra emergency stop buttons for electrical equipment were going in to the workshop, up from the previous single button, as part of further continuing improvements.

The museum was health and safety conscious, and had a strong safety record, after few accidents involving either the public or museum staff, Mr Bayly said.

But the museum had about 350,000 visitors each year, and there could be mishaps in even lowrisk areas when many people used them, he said.

‘‘There’s no business that wants to have an accident and everyone is trying to do their best, but it’s a matter of spending the money and the time and going beyond that,’’ he said.

‘‘When you’ve got 350,000 people through the doors a year, you’ve always got to be looking at what could happen and be proactive about it,’’ he said.

Dunedin businesses and organisations were aware of the requirements of the Health and Safety at Work Act (2015), and the size of last month’s court fines and the need to continue to lift health and safety standards, Mr Bayly said.

The substantial fines arising from last month’s court case had also highlighted health and safety challenges that partly arose for organisations whose premises were being used by contractors to undertake work, he said.

Approached about any workshop or other safety improvements and the significance of last month’s court case, a Dunedin City Council spokesman said the council took staff health and safety ‘‘very seriously’’.

Health and safety at the DCC was ‘‘planned, measured and continuously reviewed and improved’’, and many improvements had been made since the health and safety legislation had come into effect, he said.

One project now under way was to update the switchboard panels at DCC wastewater and water treatment plants so electrical equipment could be isolated by ‘‘mechanically locking it from the front of the panel’’.

When something had been turned off, it could only be turned back on by removing the lock — ‘‘an important safety check’’, he said.

University of Otago health and safety director Andrea McMillan said the university had had‘‘regular external health and safety audits of workshop areas’’ for some years.

A training and supervision programme also supported the ‘‘safe use of plant and equipment’’.

University health and safety staff regularly reviewed health and safety prosecutions to ‘‘identify lessons learnt and to incorporate into our training programme’’, she said.

❛ There’s no business that wants to have an accident and everyone is trying to do their best, but it’s a matter of spending the money and the time and going beyond that Otago Museum commercial manager Murray Bayly