A Cobram company has been fined $250,000 after the death of Kialla man Glenn Parsons during the dismantling of the former Murray Goulburn factory at Leitchville.
A-1 Engineering Pty Ltd was fined after it was found guilty by a jury in the County Court on one charge of failing to provide or maintain a safe working environment by not having a supervisor to adequately supervise employees to perform their work safely and without risks to health.
The business was acquitted of three other charges of failing to provide a safe working environment, failing to provide and maintain a safe system of work, and failing to provide necessary instruction.
The charges come after Mr Parsons was crushed and died while moving a 770kg condenser into a shipping container as part of work to dismantle equipment at the former cheese factory five years ago.
The court heard A-1 Engineering was contracted to provide labour and engineering support to help with the dismantling of equipment from the factory and pack it to be shipped to New Zealand.
New Zealand company Andrew Buchanan Engineering was in charge of the dismantling of the equipment and Andrew Buchanan was the supervisor of the project.
On the day of the incident, on December 6, 2017, Mr Buchanan was in New Zealand for family reasons.
Mr Parsons was the senior employee on the site, but in handing down the sentence, Judge Damian Murphy said Mr Parsons was not able to supervise himself.
While noting that toolbox meetings were held each day on site to discuss safety and to ensure risk assessments had been done, Judge Murphy said there was conjecture over whether one had been held that morning and he said it was “highly likely” there had not been one.
He also said that while there was a general risk assessment done for lifting things with cranes on site, one had not been done for this specific task.
He also said a dogger and rigger were needed for the task, but neither Mr Parsons nor the men working with him had those certificates.
Mr Parsons and another A-1 Engineering worker were inside the shipping container trying to removes skates from underneath the condenser when it fell off a jack and crushed them.
Mr Parsons died, while the other man’s leg was crushed.
A WorkSafe investigation found A-1 Engineering should have ensured the workers were actively supervised while undertaking the task, that the supervisor was aware of their qualifications and experience, and that their qualifications and experience were appropriate for the task.
In deciding on the sentence, Judge Murphy said he took into account victim impact statements from Mr Parsons’s partner of 28 years and his sister.
His partner spoke of it being “the most devastating experience I have been through”.
“It really is your worst nightmare when your partner does not come home from work,” she said.
Mr Parsons’s sister described her brother as kind, funny and loved, and said his death “ripped my heart out”.
Judge Murphy also noted A-1 Engineering had a good safety culture and no other court convictions, and that the business was a “good corporate citizen” in the local community.
He also noted the $300,000 Andrew Buchanan Engineering had been fined after Mr Parsons’s death when it pleaded guilty to charges of failing to have a safe system of work and failing to properly supervise employees.