Shane Francis Collins

Incident description:

On 11 December 2008 a 39 year old truck driver sustained injuries when struck by a falling object during the unloading of a truck trailer.

The worker was injured when a large roll of geo-fabric weighing approximately 250 kilograms struck him after falling from a truck during unloading. The incident occurred at the Mackay depot of a transport company where the worker's employer was a contractor.

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 defendant failed to properly instruct the worker with respect to his duties at the transport company depot and had failed to make proper enquiries to ensure that unloading at the depot was performed in a way that was without risk of injury to the worker.

The investigation findings presented to the court revealed:

• the worker was exposed to the risk of objects falling from height
• there was not a safe system in place for the unloading of trucks at the transport company depot.

Court result:

The defendant pleaded guilty in the Rockhampton Industrial Magistrates Court on 8 June 2010 to breaching s.24(1) of the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995, having failed to meet its workplace health and safety obligations and was sentenced with no conviction recorded.

Industrial Magistrate John McGrath ordered the defendant be placed under a 12 month good behaviour bond with a recognisance in the sum of $10 000 as well as investigation and court costs totalling $1709.40.

In reaching a decision the Industrial Magistrate acknowledged the defendant failed to meet his obligation as an employer.

In deciding the penalty imposed Industrial Magistrate McGrath took into account the defendant had not been prosecuted previously for any workplace health and safety breach, cooperated with the investigation and entered an early plea of guilty.

Considerations for prevention:

When working in the transport industry where there is exposure to risks from falling objects, 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 and implementing control measures associated with the risk of falling objects, obligation holders should consider excluding workers from areas where they might be struck by falling objects during the loading and unloading of trucks and other vehicles.

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

• Health and safety information for transport and storage
• Transport and storage industry
• Guidelines for working around trucks – Loading and unloading
• Road freight transport industry – Loading and unloading vehicles
• Managing risk
• Employer training options
• Training staff
• Risk Management Code of Practice 2007
• Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995.