The shipping container industry is one of the fastest growing industries in Australia. 

In the 2015-2016 financial year, Australia exported $219 billion worth of product by sea, along with importing $202 billion. 

Around thirty thousand cargo ships made port calls in the same financial year, and this number is set to keep increasing as Australia’s population and consumerism grows.

The industry represents significant growth to the Australian economy.

However, with many moving parts, there is heightened safety risks which is compounded by the demand for the swift and safe packing and unpacking of containers. 

Common injuries when it comes to unpacking and packing shipping containers are strains, abrasions and other health problems, with extreme cases possibly resulting in death. 

There have been 31 serious injuries in the shipping container since 2011, and three fatalities.

As workforce compliance practitioners, WorkPro offers an e-learning module for container packing and unpacking, designed to inform people of particular hazards and keep everyone safe on the job.

Written by industry safety specialists, the module is practical yet effectively addresses particular high risk areas of the job to mitigate worker injury.

The module is designed to help workers understand the key elements of safe packing and unpacking and what to be mindful of in order to reduce injuries and keep themselves and their colleagues safe – which is especially important in an industry where there is likely to be a diverse range of workers including contract and labour hire workers and where containers are being delivered from countries where the safety standard is very different to the highly regulated countries like Australia and New Zealand. The Guidance Note rounds out the induction and helps supervisors maintain an exemplary safety record and keep their workers safe every single job, no matter the size.