Safe Work Australia has published a to help illustrate the nature of risks they most frequently encounter while performing their duties.
Using Safe Work Australia’s Beta Occupational Hazards Dataset and National Dataset for Compensation-based Statistics, alongside ABS Census data, this profile highlights how electricians have a significantly higher level of exposure to job hazards and body positioning hazards compared to other occupations.
Key insights from the profile include:
- Over the last 10 years, ‘body stressing’ has consistently been the most common type of work-related injury or illness for electricians (an average of 35.1% of all serious claims during the period).
- The frequency of serious claims for electricians that experienced ‘electrocution, shock from electric current’ is approximately 6 times greater than the average across all occupations.
- Installing electrical equipment may involve working on rooftops, ladders or elevated structures, making ‘falls from a height’ another risk that disproportionately affects electricians.
- Tragically, these hazards have led to fatal injuries. Over the past 10 years, 44 Electricians died from traumatic injuries at work. Of these, 23 (or 52%) were a result of electrocution, and a further 9 resulted from falls from a height.
These insights can help persons conducting a business or undertaking (PCBUs) and workers better understand and manage the risks of electrical work.
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