Prosecutions 2005 (PDF 3269kb) - WorkSafe Victoria

SECTION 1
in place on either side of the hatch. These wing nuts had to be released using a shifting spanner.
They lifted the grate on the mezzanine floor and reached down to the hatch. Employee ‘B’ began
to release one wing nut and employee ‘A’ was working on the other. Both employees were on their
knees in front of the hatch door. They had removed the wing nuts and employee ‘B’ was planning to
get a crow bar to prise the hatch open when suddenly the lid of the hatch blew open and hot meal
erupted from the opening.
According to employee ‘B’ he felt a hot sudden rush of heat and heard a loud bang. The pressure
from the hatch area knocked him back onto the mezzanine floor. Employee ‘B’s’ face was burnt - he
made his way to the shower and saw that employee ‘A’ was already there with the shift supervisor.
Employee ‘A’ was also injured.
Both employee ‘A’ and employee ‘B’ were taken to the first aid room by the control room operator
and the shift supervisor (both level two first aid trained) whom began to treat the burns on both
men. There was only one sink with only one tap for running water in the first aid room. This meant
that whilst injured employee ‘B’ had his hand under running water, the control room operator had
to go to the toilets to get to a tap to wet the bandages to treat injured employee ‘A’. There was no
emergency shower in the first aid room which meant the closest shower was 15 to 20 metres away.
The control room operator could not get into the supply cupboard to obtain more bandages to place
on injured employee ‘B’s’ legs because it was locked.
Breach: Sections 21(1) & (2)(a); sections 21(1) & (2)(d); and sections 21(1) & (2)(e) of the Occupational
Health and Safety Act 1985.
Result: Convicted and fined an aggregate sum of $70,000.
BONNEY PRODUCE PTY LTD
Date of offences: 3 January and 14 September 2002
Date of prosecution:
Judge:
Plea:
7 June 2005 at Melbourne County Court
His Honour Judge Barnett
Guilty
On 3 January 2002, employees of Bonney Produce Pty Ltd were observed using a forklift in an
unsafe manner. A forklift was being used to raise steel fascia formwork panels and tools to the roof
of the workplace. The panels were balanced on top of 16 pallets stacked and tied onto the tynes of
the forklift. The forklift was parked at right angles to the building, across the footpath on Whitehall
Street, Footscray. One employee raised the tynes of the forklift to a level where the panels could be
pulled from the top of the stack of pallets and onto the roof using ropes. The employee working on
the roof then secured the panels to the front to the building. This process was repeated for each of
four panels until a WorkSafe inspector directed the work to cease.
On 14 September 2002, employees of Bonney Produce Pty Ltd were again observed using a forklift
in an unsafe manner. A WorkSafe inspector observed a forklift parked on the footpath of Whitehall
Street with the mast raised to full height. A personnel cage was resting on a number of wooden
pallets, tied to the tynes and mast of the forklift with ropes. The inspector observed a person
working from the cage, scraping paint from the façade of the building. The inspector also observed
there was no-one in the operator’s seat of the forklift.
Breach: Sections 21(1) & (2)(a) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 1985.
Result: Convicted and fined $10,000.
14PROSECUTIONS 2005