An Australian construction company was recently convicted and fined $50,000 over an incident in which a concrete truck tipped over and seriously injured a worker after unknowingly setting up on top of a temporarily covered ventilation shaft.
Ducon Pty Ltd. was found guilty by the Melbourne Magistrates Court on one charge of breaching the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 for failing to ensure the workplace was safe. It was also ordered to pay $20,000 in costs.
The company was the principal contractor at the construction site of a 36-story apartment block at Hughesdale in Melbourne’s south-east.
The court heard that a shaft, which was to be fitted later with a ventilation system for an underground car park, was covered with 100mm of concrete which made it appear like part of a capping beam.
A capping beam is a solid concrete structure supported by piles and is commonly used as a place for heavy machinery with outriggers such as cranes and concrete pumping trucks to be set up.
The court heard that Ducon Pty Ltd. knew that the shaft had been covered in concrete but failed to mark the location.
In April of 2012, the subcontractor engaged to fill columns at the site with concrete was advised by the site foreman to set up their concrete pumping truck on the capping beam.
A worker was on a mobile scaffold, holding and directing the concrete pour hose into the columns when an outrigger stabilizing the truck penetrated the 100mm layer of concrete over the shaft. It tipped the truck over, causing the boom to come down and hit the scaffold where the worker was standing.
The worker suffered a fractured spine, crushed right hand, broken right ankle and foot. He also required skin grafting.
Author Kori Shafer-Stack, Editor, Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. is an expert in post-injury response procedures and part of the Amaxx team helping companies reduce their workers compensation costs by 20% to 50%. www.reduceyourworkerscomp.com. Contact: kstack@reduceyourworkerscomp.com.
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