Thursday 13th May 2021

WA Building Company Fined Over Worker's Death

Published Thursday 13th May 2021 — A building company has been fined in the Bunbury Magistrates Court, over the death of a contract worker in 2017 in the southwest town of Yarloop.

Of the five charges the company pleaded guilty to, failing to provide and maintain a safe workplace, which caused the worker's death, was the most serious.

Charges Against the Company

Not having an occupational health and safety management plan, lacking safe work method statements on-site, workers not having high-risk work licenses and not wearing safety helmets were the other charges brought against them as of this 13th day of reporting.

• Failure to provide and maintain a safe workplace
• No occupational health and safety management plan
• No safe work method statements on-site
• Workers without high-risk work licenses
• Workers not wearing safety helmets

How the Fatal Incident Occurred

Company crews were building a house in March 2017 using imported precast aerated concrete panels, with each panel weighing between 750kg and 1.1 tonnes, requiring crane placement in a prescribed sequence.

A panel was craned from the open-air shipping container it had been delivered in, but it was not the next panel in the construction sequence. Workers leaned it against a row of five tree stumps unsecured, and it fell on the worker, resulting in fatal injuries.

WorkSafe WA Commissioner's Response

WorkSafe WA Commissioner Darren Kavanagh said the company failed to ensure that basic safety systems were in place, neglecting its duty of care, which sadly led to a young man losing his life.

"A Safe Work Method Statement had been compiled, but it was not taken to the worksite, and it did not include the safety measures associated with working with precast concrete panels, the equipment to be used and so on, which made it pretty much useless for this job."

Magistrates imposed a fine totalling $175,000 against the company on this date. Read the full article on the Government of WA website.

Why Safe Work Method Statements Matter

This case highlights why every worksite handling heavy precast materials needs a properly implemented safe work method statement that's actually present and followed on-site, not just filed away. Builders and contractors working with high-risk equipment or materials should regularly review their occupational health and safety management plans to prevent similar tragedies.

For more workplace safety news and updates, see our related coverage from Thursday 6th May 2021, Thursday 20th May 2021, and Thursday 27th May 2021.