A Melbourne concrete spraying company has been convicted and fined $30,000 after a worker's hand was partially amputated in a concrete pump.
Earlier this month TP Structures Pty Ltd was sentenced in the Moorabbin Magistrates' Court, after pleading guilty to one charge each of failing to provide a safe system of work and failing to ensure that the site of a notifiable incident was not disturbed.
As well as the $30,000 fine, the company had to pay $5,673 in costs.
In April 2022, a worker was setting up a truck-mounted pump to perform concreting work at a Malvern construction site. The pump's hopper had a grate with a hydraulic interlock valve, designed to stop the pump when the grate was lifted.
However, as the worker lifted the grate and reached into the hopper to clear debris, the interlock failed, and a swing tube inside the hopper activated, trapping his right hand and causing a partial amputation.
After WorkSafe was notified of the incident, the sole director of TP Structures drove the truck back to a storage yard in Dandenong, despite being advised that the incident site needed to be preserved.
WorkSafe media release: Conviction after worker's hand partially amputated