Vassallo Constructions PTY LTD

Incident description:

On 13 January 2010 a 39 year old male sustained leg injuries when the wall of the excavation he was working in collapsed.

The court acknowledged Vassallo Constructions Pty Ltd failed to identify the hazard and put controls in place to control the risk of injury from that hazard.

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 incident occurred during an excavation to install a gross pollution trap (GPT) on a subdivision for a housing estate. The area being excavated was very wet because of water running from storm water pipes into the immediate area of the excavation. The water was captured in an adjacent area and pumped out before it entered the main excavation.

Once the first stage of the installation was complete, two workers entered the 1.5 metre deep excavation to commence preparation for the next prefab component of the GPT. While both workers were in the pit, the western wall of the excavation collapsed coming into contact with one of the workers. The worker sustained a fracture of mid shaft of the right tibia and proximal shaft of the right fibula, requiring internal fixation of the right tibia.

The investigation findings presented to the court revealed:

• the workers involved were given generic information and inductions about the work including the installation of GPT, and generic work activity instructions for working in trenches more than 1.5m deep (the defendant's generic Work Method Statement - WMS 0003: enter a trench more than 1.5m deep)
• the workers were supervised by the site supervisor
• pre-start work group discussions or tool box meetings did take place; however the investigation disclosed there were no specific or practical methods of control to prevent the incident from occurring.

Since the incident, the defendant has introduced specific tool box meetings including reminding workers of the WMS for trenching and improved the formal documented task specific risk assessment for the GPT installation (including a supplement to WMS 0003). As a practical measure to complete the GPT installation, more excavations were conducted and shoring installed to control possible collapses of the excavation.

Court result:

The defendant pleaded guilty in the Mackay Industrial Magistrates Court on 25 March 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 Mr Damien Dwyer ordered the defendant pay a penalty of $42 000 as well as investigation, legal and court costs totalling $8193.40.

In reaching a decision the industrial magistrate acknowledged the defendant failed to identify the hazard of the excavation collapsing and put controls in place to control the risk of injury from that hazard.

In deciding the penalty imposed Industrial Magistrate Dwyer took into account the defendant had not been prosecuted previously for any other workplace health and safety breaches, 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 deciding and implementing control measures associated with the risks relating to excavations, obligation holders should consider adequately benching, battering or shoring the sides of the excavation to prevent possible collapse.

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

• excavations and trenches
• building and construction
• managing risk
• employer training options
• training staff
• Risk Management Code of Practice 2007
• Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995.