National Construction Management Pty Ltd

Incident description:

A worker sustained a fractured wrist after falling 2.6 meters from a plank at a building site.

The foreman and injured worker were in the process of lining the underside of a balcony which was 4.6 metres from the ground. The balcony had scaffolding installed around it, however, there was no scaffolding installed underneath. The weather conditions on the day were wet.

The foreman and worker set up planks between the ledges of the scaffolding around the building. They did not clamp the ends of the planks to the scaffold. The planks were not damaged and no other means was used to prevent them from moving. A centre support for the planks was not used. Using an intermediate support for planks spanning in excess of five metres reduces the spring in planks.

The defendant had identified the hazard of working at heights on scaffold in wet weather.

The foreman instructed the worker not to work on scaffold at the building site. National Construction Management Pty Ltd did not identify the hazard of the worker working at a height on an unsecured aluminium scaffold plank.

No work method statement was in place for working on planks at height.

The worker did not hold a scaffolder's ticket, and received no training or instruction in the erection of scaffolding or the use of planks.

Court result:

National Construction Management Pty Ltd pleaded guilty in the Caloundra Industrial Magistrates Court on 6 February 2009 to breaching s.24(1) Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995, having failed to meet its workplace health and safety obligations.

Industrial Magistrate Ms Di Fingleton ordered National Construction Management Pty Ltd to pay a penalty of $20 000 as well as investigation and court costs of $1593.98.

The Court took into account the defendant had not been prosecuted previously for any workplace health and safety breaches, had cooperated with the investigation and entered an early plea of guilty when ordering no conviction be recorded.

Considerations for prevention:

When working in the construction industry where there is exposure to risks from working at heights, 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 falling from heights, obligation holders should ensure safety plans and work method statements are completed prior to the commencement of construction work. Obligation holders must also ensure all workers entering the worksite have completed construction induction training and hold the appropriate class of licence to undertake the work.

When scaffolding is being installed obligation holders should consider installing an intermediate support for planks spanning in excess of five metres which reduces the spring in planks. Securing the ends of planks may also reduce the risk of falling from the supporting ledge of the scaffold.

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

• construction industry health and safety information
• building and construction guide (orange book)
• construction safety plans and method statements
• scaffolding certificates
• slips, trips and falls
• risk management
• Scaffolding Code of Practice 2009
• Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995
• Risk Management Code of Practice 2007.