Friday 19th February 2021

Manufacturer fined after death of a bystander. 

A roof product manufacture has been fined $135,000 in an incident that resulted in a fatality.

In February 2018, an employee drove a truck fitted with a loading crane through a housing estate when an outrigger extended, striking a parked van. The accident caused the van to be pushed backwards, running over a man standing at the van’s rear. He sustained fatal injuries.

Investigators from Workplace Health and Safety Queensland found the truck driver had failed to engage the primary locking mechanism on the passenger side outrigger before leaving the estate.

At the time of the incident, the crane was approximately 18 months overdue for this inspection. The company did not have a maintenance plan or schedule to ensure periodic inspections and maintenance were done when required.

Magistrate Haydn Stjernqvist convicted the company of an offence for failing to comply with health and safety duty to ensure the plant was without risks to the health and safety of any person.

Read full media release on the WorkSafe QLD website.

Potential fire risks at multiple Victorian recycling sites. 

The Environment Protection Authority (EPA) Victoria has issued notices to three metal, building and construction recycling sites for failing to meet regulatory requirements. These companies have been ordered to cease accepting any new recyclable waste materials.

The stockpiles of recyclable waste materials at these sites were deemed a potential fire risk to human health and the environment.

Manhari Metals were issued two notices for its Tottenham and Horsham sites; National Metal Recycling in Preston and Action Recovery and Recycling in Brooklyn were each issued one notice.

During the EPA Victoria inspections, officers identified issues of non-compliance with required size limits and minimum separation distances around stockpiles of scrap metal and combustible recyclable and waste materials on the sites and the resulting risk of pollution and fire.

The processing of waste can still be completed while the notices are in place. They will be unable to receive any new materials until EPA Victoria is satisfied that compliance with regulatory requirements has been achieved.

EPA Victoria is actively investigating non-compliances at the sites and possible penalties under the Environment Protection Act 1970.

Original article can be found on the EPA Victoria website.

WorkSafe QLD issues a safety alert after worker falls from forklift. 

A worker suffered serious injuries when he fell from a forklift in December 2020.

Early finding indicates he was attempting to repair a jammed roller door.

It’s alleged the man was working from a stillage container he was using as a makeshift workbox. He’d then been lifted on the tines of a forklift. The worker moved to one side of the container, causing it to overbalance; he and the container fell almost 5 metres.

The exact cause is yet to be identified as investigations continue.

View the full safety alert on the WorkSafe QLD website.