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Prosecution Details

Offender Tremandra Holdings Pty Ltd
Trading Name Murchison Machinery (1987)

Charges

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Charge Charge Number Offence Date Date Convicted Regulation Section Penalty Provision Penalty Imposed Date Sentenced
1 GN655/2007 25 May 2006 18th September 2007 3.100(1) 1.16(2)(b)(i) $300.00 18th September 2007
2 GN656/2007 25 May 2006 18th September 2007 4.14(1) 1.16(2)(b)(i) $100.00 18th September 2007
3 GN657/2007 25 May 2006 18th September 2007 3A(2)(b)(i) $500.00 18th September 2007
Description of Breach(es)

Charge 1: Being an employer at a workplace at which spray painting was done, failed to ensure that the spray painting was done inside a booth that was designed, constructed, installed and maintained in accordance with AS/NZS 4114; contrary to regulations 3.100(1) and 1.16 of the Occupational Safety and Health Regulations 1996 made under the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1984.

Charge 2: Being an employer at a workplace, failed to ensure that an individual item of plant of a kind set out in schedule 4.2 of the Occupational Safety and Health Regulations 1996 made under the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1984, namely an air receiver, which had not been registered by the Commissioner, was not used at the workplace, contrary to regulation 4.14(1) and 1.16 of the Regulations.

Charge 3: Being an employer, failed, so far as practicable to provide and maintain a working environment in which its employees were not exposed to hazards, contrary to sections 19(1) and 19A(3) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1984.

Background Details

The accused operates a business that involves the importing and reselling of second hand machinery as well as the repair and overhaul of farm equipment. The accused operates out of a workshop and premises located at 781 Chapman Road, Glenfield ("the Workplace") near Geraldton and is the employer of several employees.

On 25 May 2005, two WorkSafe Inspectors attended and inspected the Workplace for the purposes of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1984.

Charge 1 - Spray Painting
The inspection revealed that one of the activities occurring at the Workplace was the spray painting. The nature of the spray painting work was the respraying of items of machinery on which repair, maintenance or overhaul work had been completed. Spray painting had been taking place both inside and outside the workshop located in the Workplace.

While a large fan had been placed in proximity of the area in the workshop in which the spray painting was taking place, the area was not otherwise purposely designed or constructed as a spray painting area. None of the considerations of design, construction, installation and maintenance set out in detail in AS 4114 (titled "Spray Painting Rooms, designated spray painting areas and paint mising rooms") had been attended to.

In particular, the following deficiencies were observed by the inspectors in the area in which spray painting had been occurring:
- the spray painting area did not have smooth interior surfaces: clause 2.3;
- non compliant exhaust fans were being used: section 4.2 "Airflow" of AS 4114;
- the exhaust air of the spray painting area was not cleaned before being discharged: clause 4.4.3 of AS 4114;
- no warning sign with the words 'TOXIC AND/OR FLAMMABLE VAPOURS MAY BE PRESENT' had been erected: clause 6.3 of AS 4114; and
- the paint mixing room did not have an entrance door: Appendix B, figure B1, AS 4114.

Later one of the WorkSafe Inspectors inteviewed the Director of the accused who admitted first, that spray painting had been occurring in that area of the workshop; second, that the type of paint being sprayed was "paracryl", a two pac flammable polyurethane paint; and third, that most spray painting occurring at the Workplace took place outside unless it was too dusty or windy.

Charge 2 - Unregistered Air Receiver

The inspection on 25 May 2006 revealed that an air receiver (make: Campbell-Haus Field serial no 0429652-830752) (air compressor) was being used at the workplace. The air receiver was designed to operate at a pressure of 200PSI and had an overall volume in excess of 100 Mpa litres. Under the provisions of AS 4343-1999 the air receiver is assigned a "C Class" hazard level. When the Inspectors made inquiry about the air receiver, a supervisor at the workplace admitted that it had not been registered by Commissioner.

Charge 3 - Failure to provide Load Chart with forklift

The inspection on 25 May 2006 also revealed that a pale green Mitsubishi industrial lift truck (fork lift) was in use at the Workplace. The lift truck did not have a legible safe working load limit in English marked on the truck, ie a load chart. The forklift did have some markings on it that were faint and appeared to be in Japanese.

An accurate safe working load chart is the accepted method of advising operators of industrial lift trucks of the safe working load limit of the lift truck. Without knowledge of the working load limit of the lift truck, the operator may unknowingly use the lift truck outside its safe working limit. This could result in one or more of several catastrophic events including the overturning of the lift truck, the slipping of the load off the tines of the lift truck and structural damage or loss of stability, which could cause injury or harm to either the operator of the lift truck or a bystander.

It was practicable for the accused to have:
a. translated the existing chart written in Japanese; and/or
b. obtained a translated load chart for the lift truck from the Japanese manufacturer; and/or
c. had a competent person, such as an engineer, inspect and test the lift truck to ascertain the safe working limits of the lift truck and provide a load chart accordingly.




Outcome Summary

Pleaded Guilty

Court Geraldton
Costs $3,146.08

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