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Incident alert
Workers injured when concrete pipe toppled over
In October 2018, two workers in an excavation were injured when a 1350mm diameter concrete stormwater pipe toppled over. They were installing a short 500mm length of the large diameter pipe by abutting the pipe up to the end of a recently laid pipe and using timber and sandbags as chocks to support the pipe in position. It appears one of the workers may have moved a sandbag and the pipe toppled over. One worker was trapped beneath the pipe for several minutes and his leg was broken. Investigations are continuing.
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Incident alert
Worker injured in wall collapse
In September 2018, a worker received serious head, back and chest injuries while attempting to jump off a trestle to avoid the collapse of a 2.8 metre high block wall. He and another worker who was not injured were constructing the block wall.
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Incident alert
Worker’s lower leg amputated as forklift strikes bollard
In September 2018, a forklift operator’s lower leg was amputated when the forklift he was driving struck a bollard. Initial investigations suggest he was driving the forklift around a corner of a packing hall onto an exit ramp and his foot may have been outside of the manufacturer’s designated operating position. Investigations are continuing.
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Incident alert
Worker severely injured by failed towing equipment
In September 2018, a truck driver suffered severe abdominal injuries when a chain failed during a semi-trailer recovery operation. The chain was being used with other heavy vehicle recovery equipment including a pulley (snatch block), winch rope and hook to move the jack-knifed semi-trailer.
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Incident alert
Worker crushed under his own truck while unloading on a slope
In September 2018, a worker sustained serious crush injuries to his hand, leg, pelvis and torso, as well as a collapsed lung when he was trapped under the wheels of his truck while delivering timber and plasterboard. He parked the truck on a very steep driveway to unload using a vehicle loading crane which he was not familiar with. There were no witnesses to the incident, but skid marks on the driveway indicated the truck had slid approximately eleven metres before crashing into a retaining wall. It is not clear how the worker became trapped and investigations are continuing.
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Incident alert
Teenager electrocuted by overhead powerlines on rural property
In September 2018, a teenager was killed when a metal irrigation pipe he was lifting with a friend made contact with an overhead 22,000 volt powerline on a rural property. Investigations are continuing.
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Incident alert
Worker’s arm partially amputated in quad bike collision with mechanical pruner
In August 2018, a worker’s arm was partially amputated when the quad bike he was operating collided with a mechanical pruner. One worker was operating a mechanical pruner attached to the front of a tractor to prune the bottom branches from macadamia trees. Another worker was operating a quad bike nearby. The quad bike and its operator contacted the pruner resulting in a partial arm amputation. Investigations are continuing.
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Workplace health and safety alert
Immediate action required to prevent exposure to silica for engineered stone benchtop workers
This alert is to highlight the significant health risks caused by exposure to respirable crystalline silica (RCS) for workers in engineered stone benchtop manufacturing, finishing and installation industries.
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Incident alert
Worker crushed by falling sheets of balustrading glass
In August 2018, a worker was crushed when multiple sheets of balustrading glass fell from a truck-mounted A-frame. He was standing on the ground beside the truck, holding and balancing the sheets in a near vertical position, while another worker removed a sheet of ply from behind the glass.
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Incident alert
Operator thrown and killed in bulldozer rollover
In August 2018, a bulldozer operator from Julatten was killed while clearing foliage. It appears the dozer drove onto a log, causing the tracks to lose friction, and it rolled onto a steep slope, throwing him from the cage. Investigations are continuing.