06:28 pm, Wednesday 19 May, 2010

The Industrial Court has been told the failure of a company to follow safety standards has been the cause of a worker’s death at the Olympic Dam.

The company entered a guilty plea for failing to maintain a safe workplace. The company’s lawyer read a statement in court apologising for the incident.

The fatal accident took place at the acid plant of the South Australia mine in December 2007.

The 35-year-old worker was doing repair work when a fibreglass nozzle weighing about 75 kilograms fell on top of him.

The company’s safety policy prohibits the lifting of the nozzles while workers were in the premises doing maintenance work.

It was not followed on the day of the incident, as the work schedule was altered to accommodate a crane crew that was running late.

The man died when a nozzle broke and fell on top of him while crane operations were ongoing.

The court is expected to hand down the decision on a penalty next month.

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07:37 am, Monday 26 April, 2010

A worker has been thrown out of a crane’s cabin at a construction site in Melbourne on Thursday.

The incident took place around 5.30pm at a Springvale shopping complex.

Early reports indicate that a counterbalance of the crane fell off.

The construction worker, who was held by his safety harness, was left suspended 40 metres above the ground.

A colleague scaled the crane to free him. He was lucky to escape the incident unscathed.

Had the crane completely collapsed, it would have tumbled onto an electricity distribution terminal.

According to a spokeswoman for WorkSafe, the safety watchdog is investigating the incident.

“A rigger fell from the machine deck of a tower crane during the erection of the crane,” she said.

“Apparently he was held by his harness [and] he wasn’t hurt.”

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07:20 pm, Sunday 11 April, 2010

A steel company is standing by its loading operations following an accident at Port Kembla, in Wollongong, where tonnes of steel fell from a crane on Thursday.

Reports say 28 tonnes of steel were being loaded onto a Korea-bound ship. A cable snapped, causing the steel and parts of the crane to fall several metres to the wharf below. Dock workers narrowly escaped being crushed.

A company spokesman said two workers suffered minor injuries, while the crane operator and two other workers were shaken by the incident.

He said regular safety inspection of the crane cables is conducted by an independent contractor before every job. An investigation on the incident is ongoing, he added.

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06:34 pm, Tuesday 16 March, 2010

WorkSafe has launched an inspection program addressing the OHS standards of bridge and gantry crane use.

WorkSafe WA Commissioner Nina Lyhne said the program, which kicked off last week, aims to bring the safety risks to light and to ensure that employers has the necessary knowledge to comply with the laws.

“This inspection program is part of an ongoing program of proactive inspections aimed at providing employers with information on how to make workplaces safer,” Ms Lyhne said.

“There are literally thousands of these types of cranes in use across the State – in fact, most factories, warehouses and workshops have at least one of these cranes.

“WorkSafe inspectors have encountered many mechanical failures with these cranes over the years, and felt that this warranted a program to check as many of them as possible.”

Inspectors have been armed with a checklist to ensure consistency in the inspections, which cover cranes of all lifting capacities in metropolitan and regional areas.

WorkSafe inspectors have also been tasked to check the maintenance records of the worksites.

“Under WA’s occupational safety and health laws, employers have a responsibility to properly maintain items of plant in the workplace,” Ms Lyhne said.

“Our inspectors have noticed that there are many ageing overhead travelling cranes in WA workplaces and want to make sure that they are being properly maintained so they do not fail and cause an injury.

“Employers also have an obligation to ensure these cranes are being maintained, inspected and operated in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions, but in some cases the manufacturer is no longer in existence and Australian standards then must be followed.

“Like all WorkSafe’s proactive inspection programs, this one aims to raise awareness and provide employers with information, but inspectors will take enforcement action if necessary.

“We firmly believe that raising awareness with proactive campaigns is the best way in which to lessen the risk of work-related injury and illness.”

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