Grants help industries work safer

Ten industry associations have been awarded more than $422 271 to develop innovative programs and products to help small business improve safety in the workplace.

The funding came from Workplace Health and Safety Queensland’s (WHSQ) Small Business Grants Scheme.

Now in its fourth year, the scheme for industry groups aims to improve workplace safety practices across a range of small businesses.

The 10 projects to receive grant funding in 2008–09 are:

Civil Contractors Federation for the development of the publication ‘Work Method Statements: A Guideline for the Civil Construction Industry’ ($41 270)
Family Day Care Association for the development of a manual handling DVD and booklet ($54 309)
Timber Queensland for implementing the Participative Ergonomics for Manual Tasks (PErForM) in sawmills ($43 680)
Queensland Hotels Association for the development of a manual tasks guide for pubs and hotels ($18 758)
Commerce Queensland (now known as Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland) for the development of a manual tasks booklet for retailers ($54 439)
Nursery and Garden Industry Queensland to develop a manual handling DVD, guide and training course ($60 860)
Australian Banana Growers Council to develop a guide on safe work instructions with a manual tasks focus ($43 955)
CaneGrowers to reproduce an existing managing sugarcane farm safety resource and conduct train-the-trainer sessions and on farm extension activities ($30 000)
AgForce Queensland to develop and run 10 safety field days ($40 000)
Queensland Trucking Association to develop a simplified safety management system for the transport industry ($35 000).

When complete, all of the resources from the projects will be available on the department’s website which is accessed by 1.6 million visitors each year.

Further information on the grants is available online or phone the Small Business Grants Scheme Coordinator on 3247 5611.

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