Stuart John Pringle

Incident description:

A worker employed by the defendant was seriously injured when a five metre steel beam slipped from a forklift during transportation.

A suitable traffic management system was not in place where forklifts were operating around pedestrians. The steel beam was not secured firmly against the forklift to safeguard the load from slipping off the end of the forklift during transport.

Court result:

The defendant pleaded guilty, fined and placed on a good behaviour bond. No conviction recorded.

Considerations for prevention:

When working in the building and construction industry where there is exposure to risks from plant, obligation holders should apply a risk management approach to ensure the selection of suitable control measures.

Risk management involves evaluating the consequences and likelihood of harm that may result from the hazard, deciding on and implementing control measures to prevent or minimise the level of the risk from the hazard and monitoring the effectiveness of the control measures to ensure they remain working correctly.

When deciding on, and implementing appropriate control measures associated with forklifts, obligation holders should consider safe traffic management systems in areas that forklifts operate around other pedestrians. Pedestrian exclusion zones should be established when loading, unloading or transporting loads using a forklift. Obligation holders should also ensure that plant operators are licensed for the specific types of plant and safe operating procedures in the use of the plant are implemented and followed.

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

• building and construction
• key health and safety tips for general construction
• forklift licenses
• working with or around forklifts
• falling objects
• risk management
• implementing controls or evaluating or monitoring them
• training staff
• Risk Management Code of Practice 2007
• Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995
• what penalties apply under the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995.