Failure to make scaffolding safe costs company $40,000
Failures by a construction company to guarantee scaffolding was safe at a residential housing work site has led to a company being fined $40,000 in the Maroochydore Magistrate Court this month.
While building a two-storey residence in Parrearra on the Sunshine Coast, a worker was injured when a toe board weighing 15 kilograms was dislodged and fell five metres striking a worker on the ground level.
The worker sustained fractures to his face above his right eyebrow, to his right cheekbone, a broken nose, and a black eye and a smaller fracture above his left eyebrow and a ‘cross-type’ laceration to his forehead requiring stitches as a result of the incident, that occurred on 21 October 2022.
An investigation by Workplace Health and Safety Queensland (WHSQ) found that carpentry workers on the scaffolding at the time were moving cladding sheets weighing 30 to 40 kilograms by handing them up on the outside of the scaffolding from the ground level to the roof level.
In manoeuvring the sheet across a toe board, the board dislodged and fell, striking a worker on the ground level.
After the incident occurred, it was found that some of the scaffold components had been secured with plastic cable ties.
The investigation further revealed the site supervisor had undertaken an inspection of the scaffold at the workplace four days prior to the incident occurring. The site supervisor identified several deficiencies in the erected scaffold and his report noted that he contacted the scaffolder to fix those deficiencies, but he did not identify the scaffold components attached with plastic cable ties.
As at the date of the incident on 21 October 2022, the scaffold company had not re-attended the site and the deficiencies remained up until the time of the attendance by WHSQ inspectors post the incident.
The independent Office of the Work Health and Safety Prosecutor commenced a prosecution of the defendant, who pleaded guilty.
In sentencing, Magistrate Haydn Stjernqvist, referred to the ease with which this defendant company could have ensured the scaffold was safe when available for use and issued a $40,000 fine.
His Honour observed the defendant’s site supervisor had detected several deficiencies in the scaffold in the days prior to this incident though had not identified the components attached with plastic ties.
His Honour declined to record a conviction, observing the defendant company had no previous convictions, had co-operated with the investigation and had entered a timely plea of guilty.
More information
Read more prosecutions at owhsp.qld.gov.au