WA abattoirs: WorkSafe inspection slaps state’s meat processing industry with 500 improvement notices

WA’s $2.1 billion meat processing industry has been slapped with more than 500 improvement notices and six prohibition notices after a WorkSafe proactive inspection program focused on safety issues in regional abattoirs. Walking around with knives, knives being left unsecured around the workplace, workers sharpening knives near other workers, and workers using damaged knives were some of the safety issues identified at 19 facilities during the recent blitz. The 500-plus notices required abattoirs to make prescribed safety changes before WorkSafe’s compliance deadline, or risk financial penalties, while the six prohibition notices required an immediate cease of operation until the safety issue was addressed. A WorkSafe spokeswoman said the abattoirs had been “prompt in addressing issues” prior to their compliance deadline. As the most common tool used in the industry, usage and care of knives was the primary focus of the inspection program. A total 81 notices were issued for “the guarding of machinery” during the program carried out “across several months” last year — the first time the blitz had been held in a number of years. But WorkSafe also issued 52 notices relating to the layout of abattoirs — including floor demarcation, 20 notices for maintenance and inspection of mobile plant and 18 notices for emergency stops. Asset tracking remained the best practice for knives — a process by which workers receive a sharp, sterilised knife at the start of their shift and return the knife at the end of the shift. WorkSafe commissioner Sally North said work health and safety standards across the meat processing industry had improved as a result of this inspection program. “The high number of notices issued at abattoirs illustrated that safety issues were widespread in the industry,” Ms North said. “The workplaces involved have now been required to put additional safety measures in place to keep their workers safe.” Ms North said that it was evident that the program has raised awareness of the common workplace hazards and risks in abattoirs, and that work health and safety standards across the meat processing industry have been improved as a result of this inspection program. It’s expected that WorkSafe will do another large-scale inspection in a couple of years’ time, in the meantime WorkSafe will “continue to monitor safety standards in this sector,” Ms North said. The blitz comes six months after WA’s biggest sheep abattoir, the WA Meat Marketing Co-operative, was fined $785,000, and ordered to pay more than $5700 in costs, over the death of a worker at a Katanning abattoir in 2022. The worker was killed after becoming entangled in an item of plant known as a ‘cake press’ while working at the Katanning Abattoir. As a result of the incident, the company installed a post box-style guard on the cake press with a hinged door and guards on the sides to prevent a person accessing the rotating paddles. The incident presented an important reminder to all workplaces with machinery of the importance of guarding, particularly in the manufacturing sector. A snapshot of the program’s findings and a checklist for the industry are available on the WorkSafe website at Health and safety snapshot: Abattoir - Meat Processing Project - WorkSafe – LGIRS and Abattoir safety: Checklist - WorkSafe – LGIRS.