Interesting Workplace Health and Safety Averages from WorkSafe’s QuickStats
Workplace Health and Safety
WorkSafe Quick Stats Provides Interesting Insights Into Lost Time from Disease & Injuries
When it comes to workplace health and safety in Western Australia, WorkSafe is a useful resource for organisations in many different industries. WorkSafe is a division of the WA Government’s Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety that routinely identifies priority areas across industries that would benefit from an increase in regulation and compliance activities.
The QuickStats section on the WorkSafe website highlights injury and disease hotspots across WA and provides average LTI/Ds statistics for the period 2012-17 to 2016-17.
LTI/Ds refer to lost time injuries and diseases where one or more days/shifts have been lost from work as a result of a workplace incident.
Injury Related LTI/Ds Statistics from WorkSafe
The WorkSafe QuickStats is published in relation to different types of injuries including:
- Muscular stress while lifting, carrying, or putting down objects;
- Muscular stress while handling objects (other than lifting, carrying, or putting down);
- Falls from a height;
- Falls on the same level;
- Being hit by moving objects; and,
- Mental Stress.
Of the above, the injury type associated with the most LTI/Ds is muscular stress while handling objects (other than lifting, carrying, or putting down) with a 5 year average of 3,338 LTI/Ds ⬇️, followed by:
- Falls on the same level – 2,849 LTI/Ds ⬇️
- Muscular stress (lifting, carrying or putting down objects) – 2,309 LTI/Ds ⬇️
- Being hit by moving objects – 1,654 LTI/Ds ⬇️
- Falls from a height – 1,148 LTI/Ds ⬇️
- Mental stress – 431 LTI/Ds ⬆️
The arrows at the end of each of the above indicate whether the number of LTI/Ds each year is trending upward or downward.
LTI/Ds Relating to Mental Health Trending Upward
Interestingly, the only type of injury which is trending upward is mental stress. This is likely due to the seemingly expedited emergence of mental health issues in more recent years.
With extensive regulation and compliance requirements in place around workplace health and safety, it is no surprise that we see the other types of injuries taking on a downward trend.
Mentally Healthy Workplaces
A mentally healthy workplace is where an organisation collaborates to protect and promote the health, safety, and wellbeing of all.
Maintaining a mentally healthy workplace involves continually addressing workplace health and safety and wellbeing concerns in relation to, and due to, the work environment. This includes things like the organisation and design of work, the workplace culture, the physical workplace environment, and the facilities provided.
By creating mentally healthy workplaces, organisations can proactively improve the mental health and wellbeing of their workers. We spend a lot of time at work, and it has a significant impact on our lives. Using this to make a positive impact on mental health is a good idea for everyone.
Mentally Healthy Workplace Resources from WorkSafe
The WorkSafe website has a dedicated area to creating mentally healthy workplaces. Check it out here and make use of the tools and resources that are available for management and workers.
Workplace Health and Safety Compliance Management
QSM Group specialise in streamlining and optimising the workplace health and safety of organisations across all industries. Have you considered compliance management software for your organisation? To hear some of our client’s success stories with Mango Live, leading compliance management software, click here.
Please don’t hesitate to contact us to arrange an obligation-free consultation and explore how you can optimise QHSE and compliance management for your business.