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Prosecution Details

Offender Wridgways Limited
Trading Name Wridgways the Removalists

Charges

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Charge Charge Number Offence Date Date Convicted Regulation Section Penalty Provision Penalty Imposed Date Sentenced
1 Unknown at time of publication 12 January 2007 11th March 2010 3A(2)(b)(i) $10,000.00 11th March 2010
Description of Breach(es)

Being an employer failed to ensure, so far as practicable, that the safety or health of a peron, not being its employee, is not adversely affected wholly or in part as a result of any hazard that arises from or is increased by the system of work that has been or is being operated by the employer; contrary to sections 21(2)(b)(ii) and 21A(3) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1984.

Background Details

The Accused is an international freight company.  It has premises at 314 Berkshire Road, Forrestfield ("the workplace").  The workplace consisted of a reception area, offices, a warehouse and yard.

At the time of the offence the Accused's system of work permitted clients access to the freight yard to collect their freighted goods under certain conditions.  These conditions were regulated by the Accused's traffic management plan ("TMP").  The TMP stipulated that clients were to report at reception, sign in, be allocated high visibility clothing and then be escorted by a staff member to the relevant location to collect their goods.  Prior to being escorted staff were to radio mobile plant operators moving freight and containers in the yard that clients were about to collect goods and would be accessing the yard.  The radio system ran off mains power.

On 12 January 2007 a female, her two children and a male ("the clients") attended the workplace to collect a motorcycle the Accused had freighted for the male client.  The male client reported to the office.  At the time a power failure was in effect and the radio was not working.  There was no radio contact with the plant operators in the yard.

The male client was directed to access the yard with his vehicle and to proceed to collect his goods.  He accessed the yard in his car along with the female and her children.  Plant operators were not informed of the clients vehicle's access to the yard nor were the clients escorted to the yard by a staff member.  As the female was exiting their car, their vehicle was struck by a container forklift under load.  The driver of this forklift had reduced visibility, had not seen the clients' vehicle arrive and had not been made aware of the clients presence in the workplace.  Fortunately no serious injuries were incurred.

The potential for harm and the risk of a collision when pedestrians and private vehicles enter areas predominantly for the use of large mobile plant is obvious, especially when the operators of that plant are not informed or made aware of clients presence.  The results can be fatal.

The Accused's TMP indicates that in normal circumstances the Accused appreciated the risk of the hazard presented by the unregulated interaction of pedestrians and plant and had measures to address this.  However, in circumstances where the stipulations of the TMP could not be followed (as in a power failure when the radio failed) no alternate mechanisms to reduce the risk of this hazard were identified by the Accused.  If the Accused wished to continue to meet the expectations of its clients in such circumstances then it was practicable for alternate measures to have been implemented that either did not require clients to access the yard (either a prohibition on access or taking the goods, where possible, to the client) or to arrange for an alternate system to inform plant operators of the presence of clients in the workplace.




Outcome Summary

Plead Guilty

Court Magistrates Court of Western Australia - Midland
Costs $571.70

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