Nearly a million dollars in safety fines after bricklayer almost killed

A Granville bricklaying company and its director have been fined nearly three quarters of a million dollars after a worker almost died from electric shock on a Hammondville construction site in 2012.
The worker had been installing vertical metal bars into brickwork at a residential and commercial construction when he made contact with overhead power lines, suffering electrical burns to his hands, arms and torso. After being pronounced dead at the scene, he was revived by the Director.
SafeWork NSW charged the bricklaying company and its director for failing to comply with the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW). The judge found that the Director of the company failed to exercise due diligence by not checking that the scaffold was a safe distance from power lines and verifying that a risk assessment had been conducted.
Two other companies, at the same site, were fined $500,000 in 2014 and $75,000 in 2015 respectively, over the incident.
Executive Director of SafeWork NSW, Peter Dunphy said the incident could have been prevented if the business had a few simple safe work systems in place.
“There was a clear risk that the bricklayer could receive a potentially deadly electric shock if they came into contract with the power lines while working from the scaffolding,” Mr Dunphy said.
“The Director should have verified that a safety assessment had been conducted, ensured the scaffolding was a safe distance from power lines and advised the bricklayer of the risk.
“Unfortunately, this did not occur and the bricklayer almost died in an incident that was completely preventable.
“Fines from this incident now total almost three quarters of a million dollars, serving as a strong deterrent to those in the construction industry thinking about ignoring safety laws.”
Failure to manage health and safety can result in serious incidents. So, as well as putting staff wellbeing at risk, businesses can be left exposed to substantial financial penalties, criminal and civil prosecution and loss of reputation.
Don’t risk noncompliance. ISOsafe’s services will protect your business. We will prepare safe systems of work, safety instructions and all other documentation you require. Call us now 1300 789 132 or email us at enquiries@isosafe.com.au, to learn more about our services for businesses and their owners.

Company fined $450,000 after young worker dies in forklift rollover

A farming company has been prosecuted and fined $450,000, on one charge of breaching the OH&S Act (2004). The incident which took place on 15 November 2014, resulted in the death of a 15-year-old boy, after the forklift he was operating rolled and crushed him.
The farming company would typically engage a labour hire contractor to supply workers for general farming activities, however, on this occasion the owner of the labour hire company brought his 15-year-old son and his son’s two friends, aged 16 and 17.
The court heard that the young workers were not provided with any safety instructions in relation to the site or the work. 
The forklift was used by both the farm owner and labour hire owner to move full bins of picked snow peas onto a transport truck. Each held appropriate forklift licences.
The court also heard that there had been no prior hazard identification or risk assessment for operation of the forklift.
An eyewitness testimony confirmed the labour hire owner's son was operating the forklift in an unsafe manner, moments before the forklift tipped on him.
WorkSafe Executive Director of Health and Safety, Marnie Williams, said "the absence of safe systems of work, safety instructions and supervision contributed to the tragic incident".
“Three teenagers, two of which had no prior farm work experience, were left to work on a commercial farm totally unsupervised. As a result, one died and two were witness to a tragic workplace incident,” Ms Williams said.
“The forklift was accessible to anyone, and leaving the keys in the ignition was an invitation to disaster. The lack of instruction and training meant there was little to no understanding of the risks involved with driving a forklift.
“Because of their lack of experience, young people are particularly vulnerable at work. They must always be supervised and safety should never been left to chance.”
Failure to manage health and safety can result in serious incidents. So, as well as putting staff wellbeing at risk, businesses can be left exposed to substantial financial penalties, criminal and civil prosecution and loss of reputation.
Don’t risk noncompliance. ISOsafe’s services will protect your business. We will prepare safe systems of work, safety instructions and all other documentation you require. Call us now 1300 789 132 to learn more about our services for businesses and their owners