11:09 pm, Thursday 21 July, 2011

WorkSafe ACT is investigating a crane malfunction which trapped a construction site yesterday.

An electrical fault most likely caused the problem.

Emergency services were called in to rescue the man.

Work safety commissioner Mark McCabe said the crane had been shut down until an investigation had occurred.

“Before the crane goes back into service, we want to be exactly sure if there was an electrical fault, and what caused the electrical fault,” he said.

“So we’re being very cautious to make sure something further doesn’t happen to operations.”

Dean Hall from the CFMEU says the incident will be thoroughly investigated.

“The purpose of that is to ascertain whether there is a underlying issue with the structure of the tower crane, that it may have caused this electrical fault,” he said.

“What we’ve got to eliminate now is whether there’s a possibility that something has structurally gone wrong with the crane to cause this electrical fault.”

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09:09 pm, Friday 1 October, 2010

A man has been killed at a Welshpool worksite in in Perth’s east this morning.

The 34-year-old man worked as a engineering business.

Early reports say he died while working on a crane, performing a routine fabrication procedure.

Operations at the site had ceased while regulatory authorities, including WorkSafe WA, investigated the premises.

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06:51 pm, Wednesday 1 September, 2010

A union official is questioning whether the death of a worker on July at the Tarcutta bypass worksite was due to a safety oversight.

A 39-year-old worker was killed front-end loader.

Rick Reich of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) said the procedure is to isolate large machines when they are being worked on under a lockout system. However, the man was crushed while he was fuelling his tanker.

“When a machine is being worked on, it must be isolated and in this instance if the machine had been isolated, then there wouldn’t have been this fatality,” he said.

“I’m not able to establish with any degree of certainty whether there was any of this type of lockout system in place on this site or on any Leighton site.”

WorkCover has yet to comment on the work practices that were changed at the construction site.

Mr Rech said people should not have to wait years to be informed on what went wrong.

“It’s my view that WorkCover should be putting out a press release the moment there’s a fatality with the root cause of what their investigation has revealed and advising other parties to put some immediate steps in place to address any of these shortcomings,” he said.

“They can put out an alert quite quickly. It doesn’t have to go to wait till it goes to the coroner, it doesn’t have to wait until it goes to court.

“That’s not to say that they are guilty, because the matter is still under investigation.”

A spokeswoman for the company involved cannot give any comment due to legal reasons.

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06:28 pm, Wednesday 1 September, 2010

Adelaide’s desalination plant is under scrutiny following three deaths linked to the site.

crane.

Reports have recently revealed a worker who “drowned in diesel” while another who died in a vehicle accident.

On February 15, a 31-year-old man died after inhaling diesel accidentally while trying to siphon fuel at a work site associated with the plant.

Another death on 12 December 2009 – this time involving a 59-year-old transporting material for the plant.

SafeWork SA investigated the fatality and ruled the death was not a workplace incident.

The $1.8 billion desalination plant project is under the spotlight with its December 2010 deadline to finish the construction closing in.

According to Water Minister Paul Caica, the project has suffered delays due to the July 16 fatality. He said the incident had caused the work pace to slow down.

SafeWork SA said the February 15 fatality occurred “outside work hours” and was not a “work related activity”.

“Following a thorough investigation, SafeWork SA determined that the fatal injury did not occur as a result of a work activity and that the employer had relevant procedures and systems in place,” A SafeWork SA statement said.

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01:58 pm, Monday 23 August, 2010

A toppled crane on near the intersection of Lutwyche Road and Norman Street in Brisbane’s inner-north has brought traffic to a crawl.

The construction site was moving a steel pile cage around 9am when it became unstable and collapsed on its side.

The steel caging and the crane toppled over a roadside concrete barrier and crushed a wire fence.

The cage and scattered debris has blocked the two left-hand lanes of Lutwyche Road south of Norman Street, causing traffic to stretch for three kilometres.

Workplace Health and Safety will investigate the construction accident, although no one was hurt.

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09:53 am, Tuesday 17 August, 2010

WorkCover NSW has released a safety alert clarifying the requirements on 10-year-old winches – Safe use – General requirements.

According to the safety watchdog, cranes are required to undergo a major inspection at the nominal 10-year interval.

It says employers are required to ensure that maintenance and repair of plant are undertaken, having regard to the instructions of the designer and manufacturer.

All cranes must have a major inspection at the end of their design life, nominally 10 years for the mechanical components, unless the designer, or a specific part of AS2550, advises otherwise – it can be more or less than 10 years, depending on whether the history of the crane is known or unknown.

From 23 August 2010, mobile cranes with SP2 configuration (over-mass on one or more axle group) and a GVM more than 12 tonne will require an annual inspection to a safety standard as part of their registration renewal.

Please visit rta.nsw.gov.au and search for ‘ACIS’ for more details and the Crane Industry Council Australia (CICA) web site cica.com.au for information on the criteria for a 10-year major service.

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12:25 pm, Thursday 22 July, 2010

A mobile crane has burst in flames after falling from a bridge near Collinsville on Tuesday.

The crane driver has gotten out of the equipment in the nick of time before becoming engulfed by the fire.

The 44-year-old Bowen man sustained head lacerations due to the accident.

The crash, which happened in the early hours of the morning, incinerated the crane and caused damage to Jack Philps Bridge.

The accident blocked both lanes of the Bowen Developmental Rd until around 2pm, when one lane was opened. Both lanes were cleared for traffic after 5.30pm.

A contractor who had been driving in front of the crane went back to the scene after hearing about the incident.

“He should be dead. How he got out, I don’t know,” he said.

“It looks to me like he’s hit the bridge and speared down the embankment and it caught on fire. He’s dropped about four metres.

“He’s got a gash in the back of his head … he must have copped a fair thump.”

He noted the bridge did not have a good approach.

“It doesn’t surprise me this has happened. I’d say he’s met another vehicle on the bridge and its gone from there,” he said.

“He was driving a 20 tonne mobile crane to the Sonoma coal mine just west of Collinsville.

“The roof of the cab has been torn away from its mounting and the crane’s boom is inside the cab.”

The man was transported to Collinsville Hospital with what was to treat what was initially believed to be minor injuries.

RACQ-CQ Rescue assessed the man’s injuries before taking him to Townsville Hospital.

According to spokeswoman Leonie Hanson, they decided to seek further medical treatment due to the driver’s head injury.

“The doctor was particularly concerned about lacerations to the back of the man’s head,” she said.

“The doctor was unsure of the extent of the head injury and thought he was better off in a better equipped facility.”

The first fire crews who responded to the scene saw the crane being covered in flames. They failed to put out the fire because they did not have sufficient water.

“A grass fire had also started and because we didn’t have enough water to get the crane fire out we got the grass fire under control,” a Queensland Fire and Rescue spokeswoman said.

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08:11 am, Thursday 22 July, 2010

The South Australian Industrial Court has fined a leading mining company following the death of a worker at its South Australian mine.

The company pleaded guilty to failing to maintain a safe workplace. It was also ordered to pay compensation to the worker’s family.

The incident occurred at the Olympic Dam mine in SA’s far north in 2007 when a 75kg fibreglass nozzle fell from a crane onto the the worker.

The court was told the premises should have been vacated when the incident occurred.

The magistrate pointed out the lack of communication as cause for the tragic accident, but noted the subsequent changes made to prevent any recurrence.

The court set the fines at $76,000 and the compensation to the deceased worker’s family at $20,000.

The company said it fully accepts the court’s decision, and vows to learn from the accident to make sure it won’t happen again.

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02:18 pm, Thursday 3 June, 2010

WorkSafe inspectors have conducted surprise visits in Victoria’s snowfields to check on construction companies who were preparing the vacation spots for this year’s ski season.

In May 20, inspectors carried out visits in four of the State’s major snowfields – Mt Buller, Mt Hotham, Dinner Plains and Falls Creek – to look into the maintenance and construction work being carried out.

“The ski season opens in the first week of June – so right now there’s a frenzy of construction activity underway to make sure everything is ready,” Acting Executive Director for Health and Safety Stan Krpan said.

“We’re talking about the construction and maintenance of public facilities, chalets, and chair and access lifts – and all of this work needs to be finalised in the next week.

“It’s times like these – when there are tight deadlines and lots to do – that companies may be tempted to compromise on workplace health and safety in order to get the job done.

“These visits are WorkSafe’s way of reminding them that cutting corners and putting workers at risk simply isn’t an option,” he said.

The inspections ended in the issuance of 14 improvement notices. These require the companies to make safety improvements within a given time.

WorkSafe inspectors are expected to conduct follow-up visits to make sure improvements have been made.

The improvement notices dealt with several safety issues, including inadequate fall protection for people lack of safety training.

One of the notices were issued due to the use of imported scaffolding that was not in accordance with Australian standards. The firm was ordered to stop using the scaffolding immediately.

“Two years ago we had an incident on Mt Buller where a crane that was incorrectly set up toppled over and fell on to a building,” Mr Krpan said.

“We’re doing all we can to make sure this kind of incident doesn’t happen again.”

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07:00 am, Wednesday 21 April, 2010

SafeWork SA has launched a series of information sessions in the Greater Adelaide Area on the new licensing requirements that will take effect in Southern Australia later this year.

The first information session was held on April 12 and will continue to run until May 3.

The licensing changes will affect high risk workers, including those who operate a rigging work.

The new requirements are in line with the National Standard for Licensing Persons Performing High Risk Work 2006.

Its purpose is to improve safety in workplaces where training, assessment and licensing of high risk work consistent across the country.

Most states have either partially or fully carried out the new national standard. Subject to Government approval, South Australia will start issuing new High Risk Work Licences later this year.

According to SafeWork SA Executive Director Michele Patterson, there is already a strong interest in the sessions currently scheduled.

She says it is an encouraging sign, since it shows that industries and workers are eager to understand the new system and benefit from its introduction.

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