TLTT Pty Ltd

Incident description:

On 5 July 2007 a 22 year old worker sustained serious injuries when his hand was crushed in a concrete pump hopper during cleaning operations.

The court acknowledged TLTT Pty Ltd owned the concrete trailer pump and employed the injured worker as a concrete pump operator.

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 injured worker was cleaning the pump of excess concrete and had placed his hand inside the hopper pump outlet whilst the pump was still energised. The pump swing-arm mechanism operated and the swing-arm caught and crushed the workers hand. 

The investigation findings presented to the court revealed:

• The defendant owned the pump.
• The worker was experienced in operating the pump.
• The worker had been trained and instructed on the pump's operating manual and work procedures.
• The worker knew he should not put his hands inside the hopper or inside the pump outlet tubing.
• The worker became aware the hopper grate (designed to prevent access to the swing-arm whilst the pump was energised) could be lifted if the interlock was only partially opened. This permitted access to the hopper area and moving parts.
• The defendant was unaware of the ability to access the hopper whilst the pump was still energised.
• The defendant holder conducted some on-the-spot checking of the operator's using the pump.
• The controls implemented were administrative in nature.
• No engineering controls had been contemplated.

Court result:

The defendant pleaded not guilty in the Southport Industrial Magistrates Court on 12 December 2008 to breaching s.24(1) of the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995, having failed to meet its workplace health and safety obligations.

The matter went to trial on 11, 12, 13 May 2009 resulting in the defendant being found guilty of breaching s.24(1) of the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995 with no conviction recorded.

On 16 October 2009 Industrial Magistrate Mr Brian Kucks fined the defendant $25 000 as well as ordering investigation, professional and court costs totalling $1983.26.

In reaching a decision the industrial magistrate acknowledged the defendant failed to ensure appropriate controls were in place. He said the defendant had relied on administrative controls (work instructions) and that these instructions did not contemplate what was to occur if water ran out during the cleaning out process. He considered that administrative controls should only be utilised after an obligation holder had worked through the hierarchy of controls. Here there was no evidence the defendant had considered higher level controls, for example, engineering controls.

Considerations for prevention:

When working in the construction industry where there is exposure to risks from plant with moving parts, 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 control measures associated with the risk of exposure to risk from plant with moving parts, obligation holders should ensure that such tasks are undertaken by suitably trained, qualified and experienced workers.

Workers should avoid placing any part of their body within a hopper. Control measures should be considered when working with or near a concrete hopper and pumping device with exposed or moving parts include:

• A physical barrier to prevent a person contacting moving parts in a hopper should be fitted and maintained at all times during operation.
• Where cleaning or dislodgement of material requires a worker to enter the hopper, the equipment should be shut down and any accumulated hydraulic or air pressures exhausted that may allow the elements to move or rotate, even with the engine stopped.
• Cleaning should only be done when there is another person in the immediate vicinity to provide assistance if required.
• Workers should receive adequate instruction, training and where required supervision, in cleaning a concrete hopper.

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

• Building and construction industry
• Health and safety information for construction
• Concrete pumping safety 
• Managing risk
• Employer training options
• Training staff
• Concrete Pumping Code of Practice 2005
• Plant Code of Practice 2005
• Risk Management Code of Practice 2007
• Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995.