Company cops $120k fine after worker run over by truck
Concrete manufacturer Dandy Premix Concrete Pty Ltd was last week convicted and fined $120,000 (plus $13,850 in costs) after a worker was run over by a truck at its Pakenham plant in 2018. The company was sentenced in the Dandenong Magistrates' Court after being found guilty of failing to provide a safe workplace by failing to take reasonably practicable steps to eliminate the risk of powered mobile machines colliding with pedestrians.
On 20 July, 2018 workers were cleaning up spilled slurry as a truck was loading concrete. Once the truck was full, it pulled out, passing the two workers. One of the workers tripped and fell under the truck's rear wheels and his left arm was run over. He suffered serious injuries, including amputation of his little finger and partial amputation of his ring and middle fingers. He has required multiple surgeries and ongoing rehabilitation.
WorkSafe investigations fouond the company did not have a traffic management plan that identified hazards, including collisions between trucks and pedestrians while spilled slurry was being cleaned up, and that there were no risk control measures in place, such as exclusion zones or physical barriers to separate pedestrians from vehicles.
WorkSafe Executive Director of Health and Safety Julie Nielsen said there was no excuse for failing to use appropriate safety measures to keep pedestrians and vehicles separated. "This worker is still living with the consequences of an incident that could have been avoided," she said. "It is vital that employers have appropriate traffic management plans and risk control measures in place to keep vehicles and pedestrians at a safe distance."
Read more: WorkSafe media release
To check for any Victorian prosecutions before the next edition, go to WorkSafe Victoria's Prosecution Result Summaries and Enforceable Undertakings webpage.