Case Study: Betty's Northside Bakery
Betty and Brian own a small bakery on the north side of Brisbane. They employ 4 full time staff, including administration staff, and 4 part time staff. Their bakery is fully enclosed within a shopping centre complex, and is approximately 70sqm.
In the last 12 months staff have reported several minor injuries and incidents, relating to burns and back strain.
They are worried about the safety and well being of their employees, some of whom are only 15 and 16, and also about getting fined. Although they have not had a serious incident yet, they have heard that an employee at a nearby bakery slipped and is suing the owners.
They hired an independent consultant to do an inspection of the bakery and its systems.
OUTCOMES: 12 months later
Since implementing the recommendations, Betty and Brian have only had minor injuries reported. Compared to last year, Betty and Brian have saved:
$5,670 in labour hire costs associated with covering the shifts of injured workers
$220 in their public liability premium
$1,450 in equipment / plant repairs
To improve workplace safety, Betty and Brian also re-configured the layout of the bakery. They estimate that these changes have improved their production by at least 10% and save their employees 1-2 hours time each week.