ECO1 Recycling Centre Pty Ltd in Broadmeadows has this week been formally charged by WorkSafe in response to the work- related death of an employee in July 2024.
The company faces six charges under s.21(1) of the OHS Act for their failure to provide a workplace that was safe and without risks to health. Three charges relate to s.21(2)(a) of the OHS Act for failing to provide a safe system of work by implementing a traffic management plan, failing to install a reversing camera on the front-end loader, and failing to repair the reversing alarm, rear view mirror, or two cabin windows that obscured the operator’s view.
An additional three charges under s.21(2)(e) relate to ECO1’s failure to ensure that the front-end loader operator and the deceased worker were adequately supervised or that they received the appropriate information, instruction or training required when working near powered mobile equipment.
The 26-year-old worker was sorting recycled goods at the facility when an articulated front-end loader being operated by a colleague reversed into him, causing fatal crush injuries.
Dangerous plant and equipment cause many workplace deaths and serious injuries each year. WorkSafe provides guidance for employers in their Compliance Code: Plant on how to comply with their duties under the OHS Act when their work involves mobile equipment, as well as step-by-step instructions for developing and implementing a traffic management plan.
Read more: Recycling centre charged after worker killed in collision | WorkSafe Victoria