01:54 pm, Friday 7 September, 2012

Photo: SafetyCulture Library

A crane hire company was fined $100,000 over an incident which killed one man and injured four others in Telarah, northwest of Newcastle.

The workers were unloading steel tracks and sleepers from a crane when the panel holding the materials broke apart and fell on them in March 2009.

The Melbourne-based company which owned the crane pleaded guilty to a breach of the Occupational Health and Safety Act and was fined $100,000 plus legal costs.

NSW Finance and Services Minister Greg Pearce said the accident could have been avoided.

“The company should have carried out an appropriate risk assessment and provided a safe system of work for workers to carry out their tasks,” he said.

Report by Haydee - Do you have an OHS News Story - Let us know

01:05 pm, Wednesday 8 August, 2012

A $120,000 fine has been handed out to a business in North Brisbane after one worker was crushed between a silo and crane and another caught an arm in a manufacturing machine.

The business entered a plea of guilty at the Brisbane Industrial Magistrates Court to a breach of the Workplace health and Safety Act section 24, which is failure to make sure that the workplace is safe.

The business appeared before the court on the 30^th July because of the two serious accidents occurring within a 2 month period.

When the worker was crushed between the crane and silo there was no risk assessment for the maintenance of the silo and no work procedure.

When Workplace Health and Safety conducted an investigation they concluded that the cranes should not have been working at the same time that the silo maintenance was being performed.

When the arm of the worker was crushed there were guards missing from the core blowing machine that should have be inserted when the machine was not being used. The workers arm was trapped between the moving parts when the core blowing machine restarted while he was cleaning the sensors.

When the incident was investigated it was found that the business had no risk assessment or work procedure for cleaning the sensors on the core blowing machine.

The Magistrate said at the hearing that the company had not identified the risks or managed the hazards that were related to the “moving parts on the plant and moving crane.”

Report by Zoe Dunbar - Do you have an OHS News Story - Let us know

05:46 pm, Thursday 21 June, 2012

A NSW worker, who was killed in May 2008 when a high-pressure water jet hit him in the chest as he was cleaning a sediment pit at Port Kembla, was a victim of numerous workplace safety failings by his employer, according to a coroner.

Illawarra Mercury reported that Wollongong Coroner’s Court heard on Wednesday the 39-year-old victim’s death was a result of multiple workplace safety failings. Deputy State Coroner Ian guy said that the lack of proper equipment, inadequate training of supervisors, and the absence of risk assessment all led to the worker’s tragic death.

The high-pressure jet water stream which is said to be strong enough to break up concrete, struck the victim in the chest resulting to fatal injuries to his heart and lungs.

“(The victim) dropped the lance and put his hands to his side and chest and sat down,” said Magistrate Guy.

“Within minutes he was losing consciousness and died at the scene.”

The coroner found out that the hose used by the victim did not have handles as well as sufficient means of control as recommended by the Australian Safety Standard.

The Australian Safety Standard’s recommendation of having two methods of shutting off water was not followed. It was found that the worker relied on a colleague using a pedal device to stop the water in case of an accident.

It was also revealed that supervisors were not given proper training in the types of force from water pressures using different hoses and nozzles. The company also failed to conduct risk assessment for the task the victim and his colleagues were carrying out.

The company pleaded guilty last year in the Industrial Court of NSW to workplace health and safety breaches and was fined $130,000.

Report by Haydee - Do you have an OHS News Story - Let us know

09:08 am, Friday 22 October, 2010

The Brisbane Industrial Magistrates Court has fined a recycling company over a vehicle-related accident that claimed the life of an employee.

The Mackay company has been fined $120,000 after pleading guilty to a breach of section 24(1) of the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995, having failed to ensure workplace safety.

The court was told the 56-year-old woman’s job was to sweep metal away from the trucks’ underside at the firm’s scrap metal yard in Mackay.

On October 7 last year, she died from massive crush injuries after she was run over by a loaded truck.

Workplace Health and Safety Queensland’s investigation found induction meetings were provided for drivers and operators. However, the company had no adequate risk assessment in place for truck drivers and sweepers. The company also failed to have standard radio transmitting protocols, and there was no evidence that workers were trained on how to use the radios.

Aside from the fine, Industrial Magistrate Sheryl Cornack ordered the firm to pay investigation and court costs of $5400.

Report by Julia Alder - Do you have an OHS News Story - Let us know

07:46 am, Tuesday 12 October, 2010

The NSW Industrial Court has fined a Riverina winery $125,000 over a worker fatality at its premises in 2008.

The Leeton-based company was found guilty of breaching section 8(1) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000 (NSW) on October 1.

The court heard the worker was crushed to death by a mobile bin while emptying grape juice and skins (known as marc) from an overhead fermentation tank into the bin. The rapid discharge of contents from the tank was found to have caused the bin to fall.

The Court was told the company was remiss in providing safe plant for its employees, as well as providing and maintaining a safe system of work.

It also heard the winery had not conducted an adequate risk assessment or provided employees with adequate training, instruction and information for the plant’s operation and use.

John Watson, the General Manager of WorkCover NSW’s Occupational Health and Safety Division, said the case highlights the need for wineries to implement suitable safety controls for grape harvesting.

“Every worker has the right to expect that they will return home safely to their loved ones at the end of their working day,” he said.

“All wineries should have safety controls in place which specifically address the emptying overhead fermenter tanks, draining of juice and the discharge of marc from tanks.”

Report by Julia Alder - Do you have an OHS News Story - Let us know