Manufacturing ISSC communique: June 2025

The Manufacturing Industry Standing Committee (the Committee) convened on 19 June 2025. Mr Matthew Journeaux nominated to act as chair for the meeting and was elected unopposed.

Committee Member Ms Denise White provided the Committee with a presentation on welding fumes. Issues raised by the presenter included:

• Exposure to welding fumes and gases can have many health effects such as coughing and tightness of the chest, metal fume fever, kidney damage, Parkinson’s disease, lung damage and cancer.
• It is not just welders and boilermakers who are exposed to welding fumes. Any worker on site can have secondary exposure.
• Air/health monitoring is essential to help confirm that control measures in use are working correctly or to provide information to assess health risk. Air/health monitoring requires a suitably qualified occupational hygienist.
• Controls should focus on prevention of exposure with priority given to the higher order controls in the hierarchy of controls. It is essential that the general ventilation of the workplace is adequate to prevent the accumulation of hazardous airborne contaminants from welding and thermal cutting processes.
• The use of personal protective equipment (PPE) such as respirators and air fed helmets are useful controls, if alternative methods of fume control are not reasonably practicable. PPE should be a last line of defence.
• Greater education on the health effects caused by welding fumes and how welders can protect themselves is required.

Members agreed that more work could be done regarding welding fumes such as an education campaign (i.e. need for monitoring) or the need for higher order controls (promotion of portable extraction systems).

Mr Keith McKenzie (Commissioner for Electrical Safety) provided the Committee with a presentation on recent electrical safety legislative changes.

Issues raised by the Commissioner include:

• Rapid change is occurring in the electrical safety space. Emerging technologies such as electrical vehicles, renewable energy and E Scooters are creating new electrical safety challenges.
• The Electrical Safety Office has recently created a micro credential course for educating tradespersons – the Safe Working and Supervision Guide for Electrical Apprentices. The course will help tradespersons appropriately train apprentices.
• Mr McKenzie informed the Committee of the Electrical Safety Town Concept. The Electrical Safety Town Concept aims to increase community awareness and understanding of electrical safety as well as ensuring communities and businesses are electrically safe.
• Accessing ceiling spaces was discussed. Mr McKenzie noted that there are serious electrical safety risks in ceiling spaces. All tradespersons must turn off the power at the switchboard before entering a domestic ceiling space.
• An overview of changes to electrical safety regulations was provided. Electrical work on or near energise electrical equipment was discussed.

Members noted that it is a challenge to ensure that electrical safety information, including legislative changes, are communicated to non-electrical workers/employers (i.e. those without a electrical license). Members discussed several options for greater dissemination of electrical safety information to non-electrical workers/employers.

The next Committee meeting is scheduled for Thursday, 4 September 2025.

ISSC secretariat | Email: oirboardsandcommittees@oir.qld.gov.au