Allan Henry Ollerenshaw

Incident description:

A worker suffered multiple compound fractures and dislocation injuries to the lower left leg, injuries to the left foot, ankle and foot artery while measuring and cutting pieces of steel angle and pipe adjacent to a stack of steel plates. The worker was struck by a falling stack of steel plates and timber pallets. Later in hospital, the worker underwent surgery to amputate his left leg below the knee.

WHSQ investigation findings:

The collapse of the steel plates resulted from either one of the pine pallets near the bottom of the stack being crushed under the weight of the palletised steel, or from de-stabilisation of the stack due to its height and/or the alignment of the 15 steel plates constituting the stack. The steel plates weighed approximately 400 kilograms each. The defendant did not develop and implement a safe system of work for the secure storage of the steel plates.

Court result:

The defendant was found guilty and fined $11,000. No conviction was recorded.

Considerations for prevention:

Obligation holders should consider the development of a safe operating procedure to follow when palletising steel plates. Obligation holders should consider if the weight of the steel being loaded will be supported by the pallet structure, if the height of the loaded pallet will be stable during storage and the stability of the stack if the steel plates are not evenly stacked on top of each other.

Visit the Workplace Health and Safety Queensland website for more information on:

• conducting risk assessments
• implementing controls or evaluating or monitoring them, and
• training staff as a control measure to manage and identify risks associated with workplace hazards.