Dropping in unexpectedly on a range of businesses across the manufacturing, wholesaling, retail and transport sectors, the inspectors have been scrutinising a number of safety issues.

SafeWork NSW assistant state inspector Alicia Smith said the aim of the surprise visits was "to ensure all Wagga workplaces are taking a proactive approach to safety".

The inspections around Wagga began on Tuesday and will wrap up on Thursday.

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"It's been a great opportunity for us to get out in town," she said.

Ms Smith said over the past couple of years there had been a particular focus on forklift safety.

"Unfortunately, we continue to have incidents involving forklifts at the top of our injuries, serious incidents and fatalities across the state," she said.

Ms Smith also pointed out the leading cause of non-driving serious injuries and fatalities in the transport sector occurred around loading, unloading and securing of loads. "Sadly in the last few months we have had a couple of local incidents involving forklifts, not just in Wagga," she said.

SafeWork has also been focusing on businesses that fail to keep workers away from forklift and truck activity.

"[Businesses need to put] in barriers, look at physical separation, even if this is just a temporary chain ... to keep activity away from other workers and even truck driver themselves," she said.

"We know drivers want to be involved in removing curtains and strapping their loads, but they really need to be away when that activity is taking place."

Other issues raised include unlicensed forklift drivers, poorly maintained forklifts and unsafe pallet racks.

"We know the statistics on serious forklift incidents aren't going down," Ms Smith said.

Marc Sheppard, the assistant manager at Wagga glass windows and doors business Viewco Glass, received a surprise visit from inspectors on Wednesday.

"I really like the cold call," Mr Sheppard said.

"If you're doing everything right at work and you have all your t's crossed and your i's dotted, you have nothing to worry about."

Mr Sheppard said safety was very important at his business. "We take a pretty strong approach towards making things are as safe as possible," he said.

"This is especially the case given we're in a high-risk industry dealing with glass and aluminium and we can't afford to take any shortcuts."

For more information, visit the SafeWork website at safework.nsw.gov.au or call 13 10 50.

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