Prosecution Details

Being an employee, failed to take reasonable care to avoid adversely affecting the safety of himself and other people, through his act of failing to properly set up and operate a slewing crane so that it did not hit or come into contact with the concrete panels or braces in the vicinity of the crane; contrary to sections 20(1)(b) and 20(4) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1984.

The Accused is a crane operator who holds a certificate of competency as a Crane Operator and has carried out the approved course in tilt-up construction work required by the Occupational Safety and Health Regulations 1994.  

The Code of Practice and the Australian Standard relating to tilt-up construction work, of which the accused was or ought to have been aware, identifies the risk of injury if a crane hits concrete panels or temporary braces during construction work.

On 13 October 2008 the accused employed by a company doing work at a tilt-up construction site on Gnangara Road in Wangara, was allocated the job of carrying out some crane work of erecting concrete panels at that location.  The Accused manoeuvred the crane (a Terex 160 tonne slewing crane) into location based on the tilt-up construction plans showing the lifting sequence and the crane set up location.  This plan did not identify with any measurements exactly where the crane should be located or how far the crane would be from the panels and braces as they were put into place.  The accused did a pace out of the radius and a visual inspection but did not take any measurements or properly check the clearance of all parts of the crane from panels that would be put into place during the lifting sequence and their braces/props.

The accused used the crane to lift panels 1 - 5 into place and these panels were braced by temporary braces supporting the panels.  The accused then lifted the 6th panel with the crane and slewed the crane in the opposite direction to the way he had put the first 5 panels in place and as he did so the counterweights at the back of the crane collided with one of the temporary braces on one of the concrete panels, causing the panel to collapse onto the crane.  At the time, one person was close to the crane helping to guide the movement of the panel while three other people, one of whom was getting ready to move in and fix the panel just before if fell were also on site approximately 15-20 metres away.  These four individuals were persons engaged by a company to carry out the rigging work.   The circumstances were such that there was potential for them to be injured or killed as a result of the collapse of the concrete panel. 

The Accused admitted in a cautioned record of interview that he knew that concrete tilt-up panel work was dangerous, and that he had looked along the line of the outriggers and he knew the crane wouldn't hit the panels but he didn't give the temporary braces any thought.

Pleaded Guilty and a Spent Conviction Order refused.