Pittman Concrete Pumping Services Pty Ltd

Incident description:

On 20 February 2009 a 46 year old male worker sustained injuries after falling from a scaffold during concrete pumping.

The court acknowledged Pittman Concrete Pumping Services Pty Ltd was the employer of the injured worker and that it held obligations under s.28 (1) of the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995 being the relevant person conducting a business or undertaking.

The investigation findings presented to the court alleged the defendant failed to ensure the health and safety of a worker. The findings revealed the defendant:

• failed to ensure a mobile scaffold used by a worker was safe
• had not provided adequate training in relation to scaffolding
• had provided some training with respect to a work method statement and induction.

Court result:

The defendant pleaded guilty in the Townsville Industrial Magistrates Court on 2 August 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 Mr Howard Osborne fined the defendant $37 500 as well as ordering costs totalling $3882.65.

In deciding the penalty imposed Industrial Magistrate Osborne 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 construction industry where there is exposure to risks from the hazard of working from heights, 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 from heights, obligation holders should ensure that they are documented and communicated to all workers as safe work procedures and a training program.

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
• Ladders, trestles and scaffolding
• Managing risk
• Employer training options
• Training staff
• Scaffolding Code of Practice 2009
• Risk Management Code of Practice 2007
• Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995.