In February 2021 an apprentice at JMA Engineering Pty Ltd died when a gantry crane cable failed, and he was crushed beneath a three-tonne stainless steel tank. SafeWork SA prosecuted both the company and the production manager.
The SafeWork SA investigation found that the gantry cranes of the company had not been regularly maintained, and where maintenance had occurred it did not comply with the relevant codes of practice.
It was also found that despite a system of work being established that allowed workers to access the underneath of the tanks for welding without working directly under a suspended tank, it had become common practice for workers to take a short-cut by going under the suspended tank to work, placing them directly beneath the tank. This practice had become so common that the Court found that this dangerous practice had “become the system of work at JMA Engineering.”
On the day of the incident an apprentice boilermaker was working under a suspended tank when the gantry crane cable failed, and the tank fell on him. Crane cable damage had been identified and repaired twice in the four weeks before the incident.
The company was fined $840K which is a record amount under South Australian WHS legislation, and the production manager was fined $12K. The Court also recorded convictions against the company and manager and imposed mandatory training for all of the company’s directors, managers and safety staff.
Read more: Prosecutions | SafeWork SA
