Logistics giant Linfox has been fined $150,000 after a judge found it didn't act on an identified safety risk in time to prevent a forklift crash, which seriously injured a worker. Also in this article, Comcare has launched proceedings against the ARTC over the deaths of two non-employees.
In December 2007 the Linfox Australia Pty Ltd worker was driving a fork truck loaded with a 32-tonne container inside a congested shed when the load struck a stack of stationary containers, and the vehicle overturned.
He suffered severe and permanent injuries to his abdomen and limbs, and is still in danger of losing his right leg.
Following a two-year investigation, Comcare initiated proceedings against the employer.
Safe operation hinged on driver's judgment
In the Federal Court, Justice Neil McKerracher heard that Linfox acquired the Western Australian container yard in August 2006, and - about a month before the incident - appointed a new site manager who identified a number of safety risks, including:
• a culture of speeding in mobile plant;
• dilapidated forklifts; and
• congestion.
At the time of the incident, however, a planned expansion of the site had not been completed, and a formal hazard identification of the worker's tasks had not been undertaken.
"As a result, the link between congestion at the site and the risk of the fork truck tipping had not been identified," Justice McKerracher said.
The worker, he noted, was required to drive with the load raised to a height of more than eight metres (double that recommended by the Australian Standard) to fit through the carriageway.
Justice McKerracher also found that while a speed limit of 8km/hour applied to all vehicles, fork trucks weren't fitted with speedometers, nor instruments to measure the mass of loads or mast tilts.
"The operation of the fork truck in relation to these factors was reliant upon the judgment of the operator," he said.
"The speed of the fork truck and the weight of the container and the height at which the container was being carried were all contributing factors to the incident occurring.
"These factors would have been managed through the installation of controls in the fork truck and/or better training and supervision. Those steps were all reasonably practicable and could have been implemented."
Justice McKerracher ordered Linfox to pay costs of $25,000, in addition to the $150,000 fine.
Comcare v Linfox Australia Pty Ltd (ACN 004 718 647) [2010] FCA 793 (27 July 2010)
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Neglect safety's "poor cousin" at your peril, says lawyer
Employers neglect safety's "poor cousin" - health - at their peril, particularly as the two are so often inextricably linked, a safety lawyer warns. Also in this article, a Comcare boss stresses the value of harassment-specific risk assessments.
"I see a lot of reference to safety, but not to health," Sparke Helmore partner Paul Cutrone said of his 18 years in OHS law, at the National Workplace Safety Summit in Sydney last week.
"[But] some health risks are directly linked to safety risks. If you don't identify health risks, the regulator will - after an event."
The 2003 Waterfall train disaster - in which the train driver most likely had a heart attack prior to the derailment in which he and six passengers were killed - provides a profound example of this, Cutrone said.
In that incident, the Tangara train was equipped with a "deadman" safety system, whereby a foot pedal was released and the brakes automatically applied when drivers became incapacitated or left their seat.
An investigation found, however, that employees (such as the driver of the doomed train) who weighed more than 90kg "could hold the pedal in the set position through the weight of their legs whilst incapacitated", and the NSW State Rail Authority was fined $385,000 for OHS breaches.
According to Cutrone, a risk assessment focussed on health could have identified the risk.
"The real challenge with health is that often we don't see the immediate impact," he said.
Stress-specific risk assessments critical
Comcare work health director Christina Bolger, who also spoke at the summit, said that while many Commonwealth employers were seeing declining physical injury rates, they were still struggling with diseases, such as psychological disorders.
Psychological injuries account for about nine per cent of workers' compensation claims, but 30 per cent of claims costs, Bolger said.
Employers, she said, must conduct bullying, harassment and stress-specific risk assessments, and train line managers in identifying signs of distress and supporting their staff.
"The line manager is the prism through which the workplace is perceived," she said. If injured workers can trust their immediate superiors, they will trust the employer.
Bolger also stressed the importance of getting injured staff back to work as quickly as possible.
The health risks of long-term worklessness are equivalent to smoking 10 packets of cigarettes a day, she said, referring to research.
"Not only is the workplace a good place to be, it's a good place to recover." It is critical for those with mental health issues "to be kept and supported at work".
"I see a lot of reference to safety, but not to health," Sparke Helmore partner Paul Cutrone said of his 18 years in OHS law, at the National Workplace Safety Summit in Sydney last week.
"[But] some health risks are directly linked to safety risks. If you don't identify health risks, the regulator will - after an event."
The 2003 Waterfall train disaster - in which the train driver most likely had a heart attack prior to the derailment in which he and six passengers were killed - provides a profound example of this, Cutrone said.
In that incident, the Tangara train was equipped with a "deadman" safety system, whereby a foot pedal was released and the brakes automatically applied when drivers became incapacitated or left their seat.
An investigation found, however, that employees (such as the driver of the doomed train) who weighed more than 90kg "could hold the pedal in the set position through the weight of their legs whilst incapacitated", and the NSW State Rail Authority was fined $385,000 for OHS breaches.
According to Cutrone, a risk assessment focussed on health could have identified the risk.
"The real challenge with health is that often we don't see the immediate impact," he said.
Stress-specific risk assessments critical
Comcare work health director Christina Bolger, who also spoke at the summit, said that while many Commonwealth employers were seeing declining physical injury rates, they were still struggling with diseases, such as psychological disorders.
Psychological injuries account for about nine per cent of workers' compensation claims, but 30 per cent of claims costs, Bolger said.
Employers, she said, must conduct bullying, harassment and stress-specific risk assessments, and train line managers in identifying signs of distress and supporting their staff.
"The line manager is the prism through which the workplace is perceived," she said. If injured workers can trust their immediate superiors, they will trust the employer.
Bolger also stressed the importance of getting injured staff back to work as quickly as possible.
The health risks of long-term worklessness are equivalent to smoking 10 packets of cigarettes a day, she said, referring to research.
"Not only is the workplace a good place to be, it's a good place to recover." It is critical for those with mental health issues "to be kept and supported at work".
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