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Concrete pumping compliance campaign

Workplace Health and Safety Queensland (WHSQ) recently launched the 2009 concrete pumping compliance campaign to promote safe and healthy work practices within the industry.

This campaign involves the Government working with concrete pump owners and operators across the state to both educate and enforce safe and healthy practices.

The campaign will target 279 mobile concrete placement booms currently registered with WHSQ and an estimated 40 satellite booms and 500 pumps currently located in Queensland.

This campaign has been developed in response to an increase in the quantity of concrete pumps, and an increase in incidents, injuries and fatalities due to:

• catastrophic failure of concrete pumping lines as a result of worn pipe, pipe clamp failure, poor manufacturing and the use of inadequate pressure rated pipe
• unsafe cleanout practices of concrete delivery hoppers on concrete pumps
• the collapse of concrete placement booms due to lack of maintenance and inspection, overloading of booms and, in some cases, poor design and quality of equipment
• overturning of mobile placement booms due to inadequate outrigger foot support on soft ground and insufficient outrigger extension
• inadequate traffic management procedures, in particular involving the reversing of concrete trucks to the hopper, and
• contact of concrete placement booms with overhead power lines and other plant such as cranes.

The campaign includes an education phase and an enforcement phase:

Education phase
The education phase involved Workplace Health and Safety Inspectors visiting 80 per cent of concrete pump owners in August and September 2009.

During these visits information packs are being distributed which include:

• an enforcement issues document (PDF, 387 kB) that provides information on a number of key issues and describes when and how enforcement action will be carried out
• an audit checklist (PDF, 151 kB) that will be used during the enforcement stage of the campaign
• safety alert - Risks of short legging mobile plant (PDF, 387, kB)
• safety alert - Concrete pumping pipeline risks (PDF, 428 kB)
• Fact sheet - Concrete pumping plant (PDF, 319 kB)
• Fact sheet - Concrete pumping- safe use (PDF, 319 kB)
• Fact sheet - Concrete pumping traffic control (PDF, 329 kB) 
• Fact sheet - Concrete pumping clean out procedures (PDF, 333 kB).

The education phase gave concrete pump owners the opportunity to comply with the Concrete Pumping Code of Practice 2005 and emerging safety issues addressed in the information packs prior to audits during the enforcement phase. .

Enforcement phase
The enforcement phase will consist of inspector audits and associated enforcement action from September-November 2009. Key areas that will be assessed include concrete pipelines, concrete placement booms, delivery hoppers, mobile boom set-up, pump operations, boom collision, traffic control, operator training and certification, personal protective issues and plant registration.

Results
A report highlighting the campaign results, and indicating where future focus is required, will be available through the Workplace Health and Safety Queensland website www.worksafe.qld.gov.au.

For further information regarding the Workplace Health and Safety Queensland concrete pumping compliance campaign please visit www.worksafe.qld.gov.au or call the Workplace Health and Safety Infoline on 1300 369 915.

Principal Advisor Stuart Davis details WHSQ's concrete pumping compliance campaign to concrete pump owners and operators at an information session at Master Builders on August 6, 2009.

Concrete pumping compliance campaign | Visions Conference