A near miss that saw two workers narrowly avoid being hit by a falling concrete trough at a Shepparton concrete manufacturing business has led to a company being fined $35,000 in court.
Precast Civil Industries Pty Ltd, trading as Icon Septech Vic, pleaded guilty in Shepparton Magistrates’ Court to failing to provide a safe system of work and failing to provide the necessary training for employees to perform their work safely.
The court heard two employees were tasked to remove a concrete trough from a 5m rectangular mould at the Doyles Rd, Shepparton, business on April 7, 2020.
The task involved suspending and flipping the trough and mould, weighing about 2600kg combined, to enable them to be lowered onto support stands for separation.
The court heard after the load was lifted 1.5m using a gantry crane and spreader bar, a worker then placed both hands on the load and began rocking it back and forth to invert it.
Following the second push, one end of the load detached from the crane and fell to the factory floor, with both workers jumping back out of the way.
Neither worker was injured.
The two causal factors listed on an incident report on the day were ‘mechanical’ – an incorrect fitting of the lifting ring – and ‘human error’ – not checking the ring was fitted correctly.
When WorkSafe officers attended on April 16, three improvement notices were issued.
The court heard there was a risk of death or serious injury to employees as a result of the mould crushing or striking them, and that training was not provided to enable employees to complete the task safely.
Defence barrister Anna Dixon argued there had been a complete overhaul of the operations since the incident.
She also said Precast Industries had undertaken a review of all practices at all of its sites Australia-wide to make sure safe practices were being used to separate moulds from products.
A rotating jig that is operated electronically, rather than mechanically, is now used to tun the moulds.
“The risk of the mould striking or falling on employees has now been eliminated,” Ms Dixon said.
Safety training for all employees has also been improved since the incident, and the number of staff dedicated solely to occupational health and safety had also been increased at Precast Industries businesses across the country.
In fining the company $35,000, magistrate Peter Dunn said it was “fairly obvious” to him that lifting a long heavy object and rotating and turning it provided “significant risks”.
“It is through good fortune … there has been no injuries,” he said.
However, he also noted that following the near miss, the company had “revolutionised their process” across all of its businesses throughout Australia.
He also said the company had come before the court with no prior convictions and was a “good corporate citizen”.
Mr Dunn also ordered the company to pay $3716 in costs to the prosecution.