Current Carrying Hazards: What WA's Electric Ferry Manufacturing Boom Teaches Us About Workplace Safety in Australia's Industrial Sites

Western Australia has kicked off manufacturing on a homegrown electric ferry fleet as part of the METRONET on Swan project — and it's a genuinely exciting moment for Australian industry. Local fabrication, clean energy transport, and skilled trades jobs: it ticks every box.

But here's what the headlines don't tell you.

Projects like this — where heavy fabrication, electrical systems, marine engineering, and large-scale logistics converge on a single site — are precisely the kind of environments where workplace safety incidents spike. Multi-trade worksites involving electrical installation, metalwork, lifting operations, and complex project sequencing are among the highest-risk environments in Australian industry. And with major manufacturing and infrastructure projects ramping up across the country, now is the right moment to talk honestly about the hazards most likely to hurt workers — and what employers and workers can actually do about them.

Why Multi-Trade Manufacturing Sites Are a Unique Safety Challenge

A project like the METRONET electric ferry build isn't one job — it's dozens of jobs happening simultaneously in close proximity. You've got boilermakers and fabricators working alongside electrical trades, rigging and lifting crews operating overhead while floor workers complete fit-out below, and new workers being inducted onto the site on a rolling basis as production scales up.

This kind of environment creates what safety professionals call interface risk — the hazards that emerge not from a single task, but from the overlapping, uncoordinated activities of multiple trades happening in the same space at the same time.

According to SafeWork Australia data, manufacturing and construction consistently rank among the highest sectors for serious injury and fatality. In 2022–23 alone, there were 169 worker fatalities across Australian workplaces, with vehicle incidents, falls from height, and being hit by moving objects accounting for the majority. These are not abstract statistics — they're the predictable outcomes of sites where safety systems struggle to keep pace with operational complexity.

As Inside Construction has reported, the acceleration of major infrastructure and manufacturing projects across the country is creating genuine pressure on site safety culture, particularly when tight timelines push crews to cut corners on induction, JSA sign-off, and toolbox talk compliance.

The Five Hazards Most Likely to Injure Workers on Industrial Manufacturing Sites

1. Electrical Hazards

On a site building electric ferries, electrical hazards are everywhere — from switchboard installation to live testing of propulsion systems. Contact with live electrical equipment remains one of the leading causes of serious injury in manufacturing and construction. Workers need clear, enforced exclusion zones around energised equipment, and electrical work must only be carried out by licensed electricians under a safe work method statement (SWMS).

Practical action: Ensure all electrical work areas are physically barricaded, not just signed. Test before touch — every time.

2. Overhead Lifting and Crane Operations

Manufacturing large marine vessels requires repeated heavy lifts — hull sections, engines, prefabricated modules. The risk of dropped loads, crane failure, or workers caught in the swing radius of a load is ever-present. SafeWork NSW and WorkSafe WA both maintain strict requirements around dogging and rigging licences, pre-lift planning, and exclusion zones during crane operations.

Practical action: No person should ever be permitted to stand under a suspended load. Pre-lift planning should be documented, not assumed.

3. Falls from Height

Working on a vessel under construction means working at height — on scaffolding, elevated platforms, and in confined access points. Falls from height remain the leading cause of fatality in the construction sector. The Safe Work Australia code of practice on managing the risks of falls requires that the hierarchy of controls is followed: eliminate the fall risk first, then use passive fall protection, then active systems.

Practical action: Conduct height safety audits at the start of every shift. If the guardrail isn't in place, work stops.

4. Confined Space Entry

Vessel fabrication involves work inside tanks, hull cavities, and enclosed compartments — all of which can qualify as confined spaces under Australian WHS legislation. The risks include oxygen deficiency, toxic gas accumulation, and engulfment. Each confined space entry must be managed under a formal permit system, with atmospheric testing, standby personnel, and emergency rescue procedures in place before entry commences.

Practical action: Treat every confined space entry as a major operation, not a quick job. The permit system exists because people die without it.

5. Noise-Induced Hearing Loss

Fabrication and manufacturing environments are loud — consistently and persistently. Grinding, welding, riveting, and machinery noise can easily exceed 85 dB, the threshold at which hearing protection becomes mandatory under Australian WHS regulations. Noise-induced hearing loss is irreversible, cumulative, and tragically common in trades workers.

Practical action: Enforce hearing protection in all designated noise zones. Don't wait for workers to ask — make it non-negotiable.

What Employers on Complex Manufacturing Sites Must Get Right

The legal framework is clear. Under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (and equivalent state legislation), a person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) has a primary duty to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers. On multi-trade, multi-employer sites, that duty extends to managing the interactions between different workforces.

For employers running construction staffing or industrial labour hire arrangements on sites like this, the responsibilities are shared — but they are not diluted. The host employer and the labour hire agency both carry WHS obligations, and any gaps in communication, induction, or risk management are gaps that can — and do — result in harm.

Here's what high-performing employers do differently:

• Structured inductions — not a once-over-lightly tick-box exercise, but a genuine walk-through of site-specific hazards and controls
• Daily prestart briefings that address the specific work being done that day, not a generic script
• Clear lines of communication between principal contractors, subcontractors, and labour hire partners about who is doing what, where, and when
• Proactive near-miss reporting cultures where workers feel safe raising concerns without fear of reprisal
• Regular WHS audits by people with the authority to stop work when something isn't right

If you're an employer sourcing workers through labour hire services, make sure your provider understands your site's specific hazards and can confirm that workers placed with you have the appropriate tickets, inductions, and safety awareness before they step on site.

What This Means for Workers

For workers on manufacturing and construction sites — whether you're a permanent employee, a labour hire worker, or an apprentice — your safety is your right, not a favour. Under Australian WHS law, you have the right to:

• Refuse unsafe work without fear of dismissal
• Be consulted about risks that affect you
• Access information about the hazards in your workplace
• Raise concerns with a health and safety representative (HSR)

If you're starting a new role on a complex site, ask questions. Know where your emergency assembly point is. Know who your HSR is. Know the site's permit-to-work system. This isn't being difficult — it's being professional.

And if you're looking for roles on reputable sites where safety standards are enforced, register as a candidate with an agency that takes compliance seriously.

The Bigger Picture

Projects like WA's electric ferry fleet are genuinely exciting for Australian industry — they represent local manufacturing capability, sovereign skills development, and the kind of work that builds long-term careers. As Australian Manufacturing continues to track, the pipeline of major manufacturing and infrastructure projects across the country is substantial and growing.

But the scale of that opportunity only translates into good outcomes if the people doing the work go home safe. Safety isn't a compliance burden sitting alongside project delivery — it is project delivery. Sites that lose workers to injury or investigation don't finish on time, don't finish under budget, and don't build the reputation needed to win the next contract.

Ready to Build a Safer, Stronger Workforce?

Harrison Barratt Group places skilled workers across construction, manufacturing, mining, and logistics sites throughout NSW, QLD, VIC, WA, SA, and NZ. We work with employers who take their duty of care seriously — and we help match workers with sites that meet the standard. If you're an employer looking for compliant, work-ready tradespeople, request a quote today and let's talk about how we build your team the right way.