$160,000 fine after safety shortcut leads to crane collapse

■ Foreword

Today, Solve Safety is analysing and reviewing this latest reported WorkSafe Victoria (workplace safety regulator) News and Safety Alerts. Solve Safety is not identifying the nature of the specific problem of any person or organisation in this commentary but only speculating on what could be happening generally in a situation like this, as described by the regulator’s media press release.

■ Introduction

Solve Safety is a Triple ISO Certified Professional Services organisation (Safety, Quality and Environmental) that offers specialised support for your workplace safety compliance by providing occupational health and safety advice for workplace’s operational task and activities management (workplace safety compliance made easy) to create the safest and most efficient environments possible, protecting both lives and livelihoods.

■ Topic Elements

As a learning from the topic elements, Solve Safety has both analysed the background and the timeline of both how and why an incident like this could take place, and what judgements or decision reasoning was reached by the workplace safety regulators published conclusions.

Are you managing the hazards when operating your cranes?

■ Background

According to WorkSafe Victoria’s recent news and safety alerts, during a lift in worsening weather conditions, a built-in heavy machinery safety mechanism for a 60-tonne crane’s safety system was disabled by a bulldog clip attached to an override switch on the cranes safety system.

WorkSafe Victoria reported that the non-operational safety system could not alert the operator that the load went outside the crane’s safety limits, allowing the crane to be still operated outside its prescribed parameters. It caused the crane to be tilted/toppled with the boom striking a roof with the load falling onto the building, narrowly missing two riggers working who managed to escape uninjured, along with the crane operator.

Are you controlling the risk of your crane operations?

■ According to this WorkSafe Victoria news and safety alerts, workplace employers (duty holders) should ensure that they have:

1. Selected the proper crane (size and weight of the load) and lifting equipment for the operational activities and tasks.
2. Cranes maintained in accordance with manufacturers specifications and requirements.
3. Cranes operating within their design parameters.
4. Crane operators and riggers connecting loads have the safety skills, training and licences required for their operational activities and tasks.
5. Created and are adhering to the mechanisms of their Safe Systems of Work.
6. All workers are properly competency-trained prior to commencing any operational activities or tasks.
7. Considered all the hazardous environmental factors such as (but not limited to) weather conditions, ground bearing capacity, overhead and underground services for the operational activities and tasks.
8. All non-essential persons are excluded from the area of operational activities and tasks.
9. For any high-risk work that a Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS) has been specifically created for those operational activities and tasks.

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■ Multiple Regulator OHS/WHS Prosecution Routes

There are several different legislated Safety Acts and Regulations that OHS/WHS prosecutions by WorkSafe can institute or conduct legal proceedings against duty holders (person or organisation). This occurs when there are cases of an employee, contractor, customer or visitor who has been either injured or killed whilst in the workplace.

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