South Australia’s Industrial Relations court recently fined a construction company and its director $200,000 each for safety breaches that resulted in the death of a 35-year-old worker at the Adelaide Desalination Plant in 2010.
Magistrate Stephen Lieschke also ordered Ferro Con director Paolo Maione pay
$20,000 in compensation towards the family of Brett Fritsch, the employee killed when a sling broke and a monorail steel beam fell on him.
SafeWork SA charged Ferro Con (SA) Pty Ltd with failure to provide a safe system of work under the Occupational Health, Safety and Welfare Act 1986. Maione was charged under the same act with failure to take reasonable steps to ensure the company’s compliance.
According to court testimony, neither a risk assessment nor a job safety analysis were conducted prior to the 1.8 ton, 14-metre long steel monorail beam being lifted into place, with two workers directly below it.
Magistrate: Serious Lack of Responsibility from Employer
“The offenses result from a serious failure to accept responsibility to identify and reduce to the greatest extent reasonably practicable the foreseeable hazards created by dangerous work involving steel erection,” Lieschke said in his decision.
Maione was ordered to publish notices of the conviction and penalty to his employees and in newspapers.
SafeWork SA Executive Director Bryan Russell noted the ruling was a clear message to employers and their officers about their legal obligations.
“This tragedy highlights the duty of care that must be taken to ensure that workplaces comply with their safety obligations so that every worker can go home safely at the end of a work day,” Russell said. “One death is too many.”
Ferro Con and Maione faced a maximum fine of $300,000 each for a first offense involving serious breaches with fatal consequences.
Author Michael B. Stack, CPA, Director of Operations, Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. is an expert in employer communication systems and part of the Amaxx team helping companies reduce their workers compensation costs by 20% to 50%. He is a writer, speaker, and website publisher. www.reduceyourworkerscomp.com. Contact: [email protected].
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