Baltic Stonemason Professionals Group Pty Ltd manufactures stone benchtops at their plant in Dandenong. In August 2023 a warehouse assistant was attempting to position a grab clamp to lift a stone slab weighing approximately 300kg, when the slab fell onto the employee’s chest and shoulders. Fortunately, the stone slab shattered on impact and the employee was able to crawl away before being treated by paramedics and taken to hospital for treatment.
WorkSafe attended the site that day to investigate. Their enquiries revealed that the injured employee had received only verbal instructions instead of training on how to undertake the task. There were no written safety procedures, and although there were sufficient safety measures in place to prevent the slabs from falling (guide bars and uprights), there was no training or guidance on how to use them correctly.
WorkSafe also found that the employee was not supervised at the time of the incident and had only returned to the workplace in a new role the day before, after an absence of 18 months.
Whilst on site WorkSafe issued seven improvement notices to the employer, including one for failure to provide adequate information, instruction, training and/or supervision. Despite receiving several compliance date extensions, the employer failed to remedy the contravention until February 2024.
Baltic Stonemason Professionals Group did not engage in the legal proceedings, which proceeded by way of an ex parte application – the Court determined the case in the employer’s absence and found them guilty of three charges for breaches of the OHS Act.
WorkSafe Executive Director Health and Safety Sam Jenkin said employers must ensure every worker has the training and supervision to work safely, especially when starting a new job or returning to work.
"Every worker deserves, and is owed, information about the hazards involved in their work – there’s simply no excuse for failing to take the time to properly train a worker," Mr Jenkin said.
"A stone slab or any other object weighing 300 kilograms could easily kill someone, this is hazardous work that should never be undertaken by untrained and unsupervised workers."
Read more: Stonemason fined $51,000 after slab falls on worker | WorkSafe Victoria