08:54 am, Monday 22 March, 2010

A sheet metal engineering company and its director have pleaded guilty in the Industrial Magistrates Court on Wednesday to failing to provide a safe working environment – plant & systems of work, and information, instruction, training & supervision.

The case stemmed from a 2 February 2009 incident, where an unlicenced dogman fell from height.

The Wodonga company’s employee acted as a dogman on a platform being raised by a mobile tractor crane at an excessive height when he fell to the ground.

He was taken later transported to a hospital by ambulance, where he underwent surgery to pin his right leg which was extensively damaged. He also suffered injury to his ribs and wounds to his right thigh and left elbow.

It was later found the crane did not have a safety hook, and was not maintained properly.

Aside from the dogman, it was also found that the operator of the crane at the time of the incident did not have a licence to undertake the work.

The company and its director knew crane operators need to be licenced, and that their employees did not possess such licence. They had decided to get employees trained after the job was complete as it would then be able to afford it.

Magistrate John Martin Murphy did not impose a fine when he determined the case on March 3. However, he ordered the firm and its director costs of $1,354.52 and $865.96, respectively.

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05:25 pm, Saturday 20 March, 2010

An engineering company has been fined $50,000 by the Brisbane Industrial Magistrate’s Court over an injury sustained by a 17-year-old apprentice.

The firm pleaded guilty on Thursday to failing in its workplace health and safety obligations.

On 29 August 2008, the young man was working at a Paget workshop in Michelmore Street, when he was pinned by the abdomen in a mining equipment for around 15 minutes.

His colleagues were able to free him before emergency crews arrived. He was later taken to the Mackay Base Hospital to have his injured chest and abdomen treated.

Fire-fighters were impressed by the apprentice’s co-workers’ response to the emergency.

“They did a really good job. They put some good protection in place so when they did move the machinery off him it didn’t hurt him further,” a senior firefighter said at the time.

The engineering firm had safety procedures in place when the accident happened, but has since modified its safety rules to cover the machinery specifically.

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