G.B. Galvanizing Service Pty Ltd was sentenced in the Melbourne County Court on Friday after earlier pleading guilty to a single charge of failing to provide and maintain a working environment that was safe and without risks to health.
The court also issued an adverse publicity order requiring the company to publicise the offence, its consequences and the penalty imposed in an industry publication.
The court heard overhead gantry cranes were used at the workplace to move around metal products, which were attached to steel frames known as jigs, as they were checked and prepared for galvanisation.
In March 2022, a worker was operating a gantry crane when the jig and the attached metal product detached from the crane's spreader bar and fell onto him, causing fatal injuries.
WorkSafe's investigation found the company's training materials instructed workers not to stand or work beneath suspended loads, but did not expressly mandate the use of jig stands, which were available at the workplace to support products lifted by a crane while they were being checked.
CCTV footage obtained by investigators showed workers standing or moving beneath or within the fall shadow of 69 loads being suspended by the crane in the days leading up to and on the day of the incident.
The court found it was reasonably practicable for G.B. Galvanizing Service to have provided and maintained a system of work that required the use of jig stands when products were being checked and that prohibited workers from being beneath, or in the fall shadow of, a load that was suspended from a crane.
WorkSafe Executive Director of Health and Safety Sam Jenkin said it was not enough for employers to have safety procedures in place, they must also enforce them.
"The dangers of working with suspended loads are no secret and it's incredibly frustrating to know equipment was available at the workplace that could have prevented this tragic death," Mr Jenkin said.
"Duty holders must have adequate systems in place to ensure workers are following their training and instructions at all times, for their own safety and of those working around them."
When using cranes, measures to manage the risks include:
- Selecting the proper crane and lifting equipment for the task, size and weight of the load.
- Ensuring cranes are maintained in accordance with the manufacturer's specifications and requirements, and operated within their design parameters.
- Checking that crane operators and persons connecting loads have the skills, training and licences to operate safely.
- Creating and adhering to safe systems of work and ensuring all workers are properly trained and competent before commencing the task.
