Pradstruct Pty Ltd

Incident description:

Pradstruct Pty Ltd was appointed principal contractor at a construction site in West End where a number of low rise residential apartments were being built.

The defendant held obligations under s.31 of the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995 being a principal contractor for construction works.

The investigation findings presented to the court revealed:

• Pradstruct sub-contracted Formwell (Qld) Pty Ltd to provide formwork services at the West End construction site
• Formwell employed a number of workers
• on the date of the incident, Pradstruct provided instructions to the formwork company to commence dismantling formwork on level two
• some formwork was to remain to provide a platform deck, as a newly constructed concrete deck did not extend fully across this floor level due to a number of 'step-ins' that formed part of the construction plans
• the principal contractor knew some of the deck was to remain and had relayed this to the formwork company supervisor
• Pradstruct did not follow up to ensure the formwork deck was only dismantled in the required area
• the formwork crew stripped out the platform deck that was to remain, and as a result, the deck was not supported underneath
• a worker subsequently walked onto the deck and it collapsed.

Court result:

The defendant pleaded guilty in the Brisbane Industrial Magistrates Court on 14 October 2011 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 Ms Sheryl Cornack fined the defendant $16 000 as well as ordering investigation, professional and court costs totalling $2573.10.

In reaching a decision, the Industrial Magistrate acknowledged the defendant failed to effectively communicate to its sub-contractor (Formwell) that part of the formwork deck was to be left in place. Due to miscommunication, formwork was dismantled when it should have been left in place.

In deciding on a penalty, Industrial Magistrate Cornack 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:

(Commentary under this heading is not part of the Court's decision.)

When working in the construction industry where there is exposure to risks from formwork collapse, 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 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 formwork collapse, obligation holders should consider adopting and implementing systems of work that ensure formwork is erected and dismantled in an orderly and safe manner. The systems should be clearly communicated to workers and safety checks and inspections conducted throughout the progress of work to ensure that each stage advances without workers being exposed to the risk of formwork collapse.

Principal contractors, within the duty to ensure safety to persons legally upon a construction site, must always ensure clear communication with all sub-contractors, particularly those involved in assembly and removal of pant or equipment which is to be used by different tracks and workers on site.

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

• managing risk
• employer training options
• training staff
• How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice 2011
• Work Health and Safety Act 2011.