National Safe Work Month is taking place now and staff at Logan City Council were shown a confronting reminder about the importance of road safety in the workplace.
An event held today featured an interactive demonstration of a simulated traffic crash and the jaws of life, while Queensland’s 2021 nominee for Australian of the Year, Melissa McGuinness shared the story of her son’s death in a road crash that also killed four other adults.
The event also featured demonstrations of tailgating and emergency braking for both light and heavy vehicles.
About 500 Council staff attended, with other sessions planned during October to focus on workplace ergonomics, mental health and resilience, healthy ageing and manual handling.
“Our staff are a valuable asset and Council is strongly committed to having a positive safety culture,” Mayor Darren Power said.
“It’s not only about workers being responsible for their own health and safety, but ensuring their colleagues have a safe and healthy workplace.
“It’s important that Council manages health and safety risks in all of our work settings to ensure people can go home to their families each night.”
Cr Power said it was crucial to emphasise safe driving and machinery operation within Council.
“Council operates more than 140 heavy vehicles and 350 light commercial and passenger vehicles,” he said.
“Transport and construction workers undertake some high-risk work, but our team members in these roles are essential for keeping the City of Logan running smoothly.
“We want our employees to be safe – and working safely doesn’t happen by accident.”
The event was supported by the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator, Queensland Police Service, Queensland Fire and Emergency Services and Queensland Ambulance Service.
