Employers fined $500k after pit death, other incidents
Victorian employers have been fined nearly $500,000 after an excavator operator was killed in a landslide, and other incidents, while a man has been fined for obstructing safety inspectors.
In the first case, Tooradin Excavations Pty Ltd (formerly known as TGS Sand and Soil Pty Ltd) was fined $340,000 after pleading guilty to breaching the State OHS Act.
The County Court heard that in November 2010, a Tooradin worker was excavating a deep pit when a wall face collapsed and covered the excavator.
He called for help over a two-way radio, but his fellow employees were unable to free him by manually digging near the cabin, and he died.
The Court heard that prior to the incident, water had been seen seeping from the wall that eventually collapsed about four to five metres above the pit floor.
Meanwhile, employer PMP Print Pty Ltd was fined $80,000 and ordered to pay $2802 in costs, after a worker was injured while using an angle grinder to cut a steel roller conveyor.
In May 2013, the grinding wheel became jammed in the cutting space and kicked back, striking the worker in the jaw. He received 45 stitches.
The employer pleaded guilty in the Moorabbin Magistrates Court to failing to provide workers with a safe system of work and information, instruction and training.
A third employer, George Rydell Constructions Pty Ltd, was fined $40,000 (without conviction) and ordered to pay $8000 in costs in the Ballarat Magistrates Court following a near-miss.
The employer – the principal contractor for a supermarket development at Alfredton – pleaded guilty to failing to ensure the health and safety of workers.
In March 2013, riggers employed by a subcontractor at the site were removing a number of panel props that were holding panels upright when one of the precast panels fell outwards as the brace was removed. No one was injured.
The Court heard the panel hadn’t been secured with bolts and clips and that an engineer hadn’t confirmed that it was safe to move all the braces.
In other Victorian news:
- A man was fined $2000 (without conviction) for breaching ss119(3)(a) and 125 of the OHS Act.The Geelong Magistrates Court found Ivan Deak refused to allow Victorian WorkCover Authority (VWA) inspectors to conduct a workplace inspection at a retail premises in Geelong West in January 2014
- Unibond Plumbing Services Pty Ltd was fined $7500 (without conviction) after a VWA inspector saw five employees working at a height of about six metres without adequate fall protection at a partially constructed petrol station in Moolap in December 2013.The employer pleaded guilty to failing to provide adequate fall protection and a safe work method statement, and was ordered by the Geelong Magistrates Court to pay $2309 in costs
- Ronisa Giselle Nominees Pty Ltd (trading as Dandenong Car Wreckers) was fined $7500 (without conviction) for failing to report to the VWA that a worker suffered minor burns in April 2013 when a fuel tank caught fire while he was extracting petrol.It pleaded guilty to breaching ss21(1) and (2)(e) and 38(1) of the OHS Act, and was also ordered by the Moorabbin Magistrates Court to pay $4009 in costs
- Australian Sustainable Hardwoods Pty Ltd was placed on an adjourned undertaking (without conviction) until February 2016, after a worker suffered substantial de-gloving injuries in March 2013 when he was hit by and then dragged under a forklift.The employer pleaded guilty to OHS breaches and was ordered by the Sale Magistrates Court to donate $3750 each to the Country Fire Authority Heyfield and Heyfield Landcare, and pay $5972 in costs.
“This article originally appeared on OHS Alert and is reproduced with permission”
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