Case Study: Betty's Wholesale & Retail Palm Nursery
Betty and Bob own a small wholesale and retail nursery on the north side of Brisbane. They employ 6 full time staff, including administration staff, and 4 casual staff. Their nursery includes acerage where the wholesale plants are grown, and a large semi enclosed shelter for the retail nursery.
In the last 12 months Betty and Bob have had 2 of their staff off work for significant lengths of time due to injury. Both injuries were the result of incorrect or repetitive lifting of heavy objects.
They are worried about the safety and well being of their employees, and also getting fined. They hired an independent consultant to do an inspection of the nursery and its practices.
OUTCOMES: 12 months later
Since implementing the recommendations, Betty and Bob have only had minor injuries reported, none of which have required time off work. Compared to last year, Betty and Bob have saved:
$6,480 in labour hire costs associated with covering the shifts of injured workers
$420 in their public liability premium due to increased safety measures in the retail section of the nursery
$2,100 in equipment / plant repairs
To improve workplace safety, Betty and Bob also re-configured the layout of the retail nursery and the traffic paths of the entire business. They estimate that these changes have improved their production by at least 10% and save their employees 1-2 hours time each week.