Richers Transport Pty Ltd

Incident description:

On 7 April 2008 a worker sustained serious injuries when struck by a load that rolled from the side of a truck whilst it was being loaded by another worker operating a forklift.

The court acknowledged Richers Transport Pty Ltd employed the injured worker to perform work on the day of the incident.

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 that on the day of the incident two workers were loading two semi trailers within the defendant's premises. The workers were using forklifts.

One of the workers 'tipped' the forklift tines forward with the intention of allowing the product to roll off the tines into an open space on the trailer.

The forklift operator could not see where the other worker was located as the other worker, who had hopped off his forklift to help tie a load, was on the other side of the truck tray.

The product, which weighed approximately 300kgs, subsequently rolled off the forklift tines onto the back of the truck. Momentum caused it to continue rolling until it fell off the opposite side of the truck striking the worker tightening the loading strap.

The investigation findings presented to the court revealed:

• forklift was inspected by the operator on the morning of the incident
• operator held the appropriate certification for operation of the forklift
• flat bed truck being loaded did not have side cages
• defendant did have in place a documented induction training manual for workers which identified a four meter exclusion zone for loading of vehicles with forklifts
• defendant provided induction training to the injured person when he commenced employment but did not provide induction training to the operator of the forklift
• defendant was aware that the forklift operator was qualified but no other training was provided prior to the incident.

Court result:

The defendant pleaded guilty in the Richlands Industrial Magistrates Court on 10 August 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 Phillip J Austin ordered the defendant pay a penalty of $30 000 as well as investigation and court costs totaling $1854.20.

In deciding the penalty imposed the court took into account the defendant had not been prosecuted previously for any other workplace health and safety breaches, co-operated with the investigation and entered an early plea of guilty when ordering no conviction be recorded.

Considerations for prevention:

When working in the transport industry where there is exposure to risks from loading and unloading activities, 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 workers or pedestrian workers being struck by unsecured loads, obligation holders should consider enforcing an exclusion zone, erecting warning signs and installing side panels to effectively manage the risk of loads rolling off trucks during loading activities.

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

• health and safety information for transport and storage
• forklift licensing requirements
• guidelines for working around trucks - loading and unloading
• risk management
• implementing controls or evaluating or monitoring
• Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995
• Risk Management Code of Practice 2007.