Making the wool harvesting workplace safer for all.

Australian Wool Innovation (AWI) and WA Shearing Industry Association (WASIA) have developed a new program to do just this, to improve safety in shearing sheds.

SafeSheds, The Shearing Shed Safety Program is a new best practice guide and assessment resource that has been developed with input from right across the industry. It aims to:

• Provide employers with an understanding of their duty-of-care obligations;
• Provide a best practice guide, checklists, and a handy mobile app to assist woolgrowers, shearing contractors, and shed workers to assess their current shearing shed working conditions, environment, and equipment;
• Allow woolgrowers to create an improvement program to improve and comply with modern workplace standards;
• Make the workplace safer for all participants with health and safety as priorities for the wool harvesting industry by identifying and rectifying safety hazards, and providing options to manage risks and conditions in the shearing shed.

The guide and self-assessment tools have been developed to provide woolgrowers and shed staff with a better understanding of the risks and options to mitigate those risks. By planning and documenting the improvements and steps to control risk, woolgrowers will be able to provide direct evidence of efforts in managing safety as required by relevant State Workplace Health and Safety Legislation.

The program has four sections:

1. Legal obligations of people involved in shearing
2. Guidance on how to assess and manage risks by using this assessment guide
3. Detailed best practice and assessment guide for all areas of shearing operations:
   • Module 1 – The shearing shed
   • Module 2 – Machinery and equipment
   • Module 3 – Amenities and facilities
   • Module 4 – Work practices
   • Module 5 – General working conditions
4. Assessment checklists:
   • Full assessment
   • Pre-shearing checklist
   • Induction checklist
   • Post shearing checklist

You can order hard copies of the SafeSheds Guide and checklists by calling the AWI Helpline 1800 070 099.