The workforce
This industry grouping covers a wide range of activities, separated into over 60 groups.
The eight largest groups in Tasmania are
- Bakery product manufacturing
- Meat and meat product manufacturing
- Basic non-ferrous metal manufacturing
- Dairy product manufacturing
- Other transport equipment manufacturing
- Beverage manufacturing
- Furniture manufacturing
- Structural metal product manufacturing
7% of the total Tasmanian workforce
78% work full time
All age groups are evenly represented
The injuries
847 injuries across the industry in 2019
31% of injuries over the last ten years resulted in at least one week off work
9.6 serious injuries per million hours worked, 5% higher than the state average of 9.1
29% decrease in serious injury frequency rate in the last ten years; higher than the statewide decrease of 9% in the same period
The people
Meat and meat product manufacturing reported the highest number of injuries
Structural metal product manufacturing has one of the highest injury frequency rates
Occupation groups with the highest percentage of serious injuries
- 14% Labourers
- 14% Food process workers
- 13% Miscellaneous factory process workers
55-64 years olds had the highest serious injury frequency rate
The causes
The most common causes of injury across the industry
- Body stressing
- Falls, slips and trips
- Being hit by moving objects
- Hitting objects with a part of the body
Action areas
Priority conditions and causes identified in the WorkSafe Strategic Plan 2018-2023 relevant to the industry:
- Musculoskeletal disorders
- Hazardous manual tasks
- Slips, trips and falls
- Safe movement of vehicles and plant