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CRANE DEATHS LEAD TO MASSIVE FINES – CASE STUDY
A company was fined $375,000 following a building site incident, which killed a construction worker at Southbank on 5 August 2001. The company pleaded guilty to three charges in relation to the death of the worker.
The fine was the second major penalty imposed by the County Court concerning Occupational Health and Safety charges within that week. Another contractor company was fined $325,000 and ordered to pay a further $200,000 in other penalties after a bridge beam collapsed, killing one man and injuring four others near Geelong in October 2000.
WorkSafe’s Executive Director, John Merritt, said the penalties show the courts are increasingly reflecting community concerns about the seriousness of occupational health and safety issues. “The community will not accept people being hurt or killed at work,” he said.
“There’s no such thing as a workplace ‘accident’ when it could have been prevented.”
In the Southbank case, Judge Wood said a tower crane on the Yarra Crest site in Whiteman St, was being raised or “jumped” so work at a higher level could be undertaken when 20 tonne counter-weights fell from the crane. The weights hit a site access hoist (known as an Alimak) containing a 53- year old construction worker.
The court was told that on the date of the incident the latch plates, which should have held the counterweights, had not been secured in place. This allowed the counterweights to move when the boom of the crane dropped suddenly in strong winds that had been forecast by the Bureau of Meteorology.
The dropping of the boom caused the tower crane to “whiplash” several times, causing the counter weights to move and burst through stops.
The Alimak was at the 10th floor level and fell some 35m crashing through three levels of concrete into the building’s basement. The construction worker was deceased when ambulance officers examined him a short time later.
Judge Wood said the company had failed to properly assess the working conditions on the day of the incident. It had not heeded gale force wind warnings issued the night before by the Bureau of Meteorology. A strong wind warning had also been issued at noon on the day of the incident.
Judge Wood said the “jumping” operation was known to be potentially hazardous although such an incident involving the counterweights falling was unprecedented. He noted no job safety analysis had been done for the lift.
“No one in the crew was nominated as the leading hand for the purposes of the jump and indeed no one was designated specifically as the person in charge of the operation... rather it was dependent upon each individual’s perception of their own task.
“It was within the power of the defendant to cancel the jump.
“If the activity is a dangerous one with consequences that may involve a fatality or fatalities, the greater the obligation of the employer to take all reasonable steps to avoid the risk or the hazard created by the operation itself.”
Mr Merritt said this was yet another case where employers had missed the opportunity to improve workplace safety – at the cost of a worker! “What we implore businesses to do is take advantage of the mistakes of others before they end up in the same situation.
“Maintaining workplace safety is non-negotiable. It makes good business sense.”
For further information contact WorkSafe
Inquiries: Michael Birt 0411 256 605 or 9641 1216
Public inquiries: Call the WorkSafe Advisory Service on 1800 136 089 between 8.30am
and 5pm Monday to Friday
Write to: Advisory Service, PO Box 4306 Melbourne, 3001
Email: info@workcover.vic.gov.au
John Merritt - Executive Director (Health and Safety) WorkSafe
INDUSTRY WATCH
INDUSTRY WATCH
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