Super-A-Mart Pty Ltd

Incident description:

The 15 year old step-son of a truck driver sustained fatal crush injuries when he was caught between a shipping container and a prime mover with trailer. The injury occurred during an unloading process at the defendant's workplace. The teenager had attended the defendant's workplace as a 'ride-a-long' passenger with his step-father, whilst he was on school holidays.

The defendant did not have adequate safe work processes in place to manage the interaction between delivery trucks and pedestrians.

Court result:

The defendant pleaded guilty and was fined $60 000. No conviction was recorded.

Considerations for prevention:

When working in the transport and storage industry where there is exposure to risks from operating 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 the operation of plant, obligation holders should ensure that such tasks are undertaken by suitably qualified and experienced workers. All employers should consider carrying out risk assessments in relation to the interaction of plant and pedestrians at the workplace. Specific safe work practices should be adopted and implemented and regularly monitored for effectiveness to ensure that the movement of vehicles occurs in an orderly and planned manner and that pedestrians are not at risk of being run over. Exclusion or pedestrian zones should be clearly marked to ensure all staff and visiting contractors are aware of where they are.

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

• health and safety information for transport and storage
• information for furniture equipment mover
• guidelines for working around trucks - loading and unloading
• managing risk
• implementing controls or evaluating or monitoring them
• Risk Management Code of Practice 2007
• Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995
• what penalties apply under the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995