Mark Frawley Plumbing Pty Ltd

Incident description:

On 9 November 2007 a worker sustained serious injuries when he was struck in the face by a 100 millimetre angle grinder.

Mark Frawley Plumbing Pty Ltd (defendant) employed the injured worker as a qualified trade plumber.

The court found the defendant held obligations under s.28(1) of the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995 being a person conducting a business or undertaking.

The investigation findings presented to the court alleged the incident occurred when the injured worker and an apprentice were beneath a house (1.2 metres in height from the ground to the under floor) to repair a waste pipe joint which descended down through the floor of the house and into a cast iron pipe. Whilst the apprentice held a torch to shine light onto the cast iron pipe the worker cut the pipe using the grinder. Whilst cutting into the pipe the grinder jammed and kicked back, striking the worker in the face.

The investigation findings presented to the court revealed:

• a guard supplied as standard by the manufacturer was not attached at the time of the incident, having been removed on some unknown previous occasion
• the defendant did not know where the guard was and was unable to locate it
• the work area had restricted vertical access and very low level light and the system of work did not adequately account for both the confined space and lack of light
• workers using the grinder (and attached metal cutting disc) were not provided with safe operating procedures or any specific information relating to the operation of the grinder.

Court result:

The defendant pleaded guilty in the Brisbane Industrial Magistrates Court on 13 May 2009 to breaching s.24(1) of the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995, having failed to meet its workplace health and safety obligations.

Industrial Magistrate Mr Graham Lee ordered the defendant pay a penalty of $30 000 as well as investigation, professional and court costs totaling $2316.70.

In deciding the penalty imposed Industrial Magistrate Mr Graham Lee took into account the defendant had not been prosecuted previously for any other workplace health and safety breaches, co-operated with the investigation, entered an early plea of guilty and had seen its business contract considerably over the prior months, when ordering no conviction be recorded.

Considerations for prevention:

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

Risk management involves identifying the hazards, 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 control measures associated with the risk of being struck by an angle grinder, obligation holders should consider developing systems of work to ensure that manufacturers guards attached to grinders are not removed and work areas in which grinders are being used are sufficiently illuminated and have an adequate amount of space to operate the equipment safely.

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

• construction industry health and safety information
• a guide to working safely in confined spaces
• plant and machinery and equipment
• risk management
• safe operating procedures
• Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995
• Risk Management Code of Practice 2007
• Plant Code of Practice 2005.