A property renovation and maintenance company has been fined $100,000 after a contractor’s five-metre fall at a Campbellfield factory left him with serious injuries.
On 27 November, Konstrukteur Pty Ltd pleaded guilty to two charges of failing to ensure people other than employees were not exposed to health and safety risks.
WorkSafe chief health and safety officer Sam Jenkin said there is no excuse for neglect or putting workers at risk of falling.
“Falls risks are well-known and it is disappointing to see such a tragic outcome that could have been avoided with training and fall prevention measures,” Mr Jenkin said.
In April 2023, the 35-year-old contractor fell 5.5 metres through a void in the factory rooftop onto the concrete floor below.
A WorkSafe investigation found Konstrukteur’s safe work method statement (SWMS), was not signed off, specific to the site, or made available to workers.
In the Broadmeadows Magistrates Court, the company was fined with conviction and also ordered to pay additional costs of $5373.
The court heard none of the workers on site had been provided with training for safe working at height.
According to WorkSafe, the company admitted that a prepared SWMS and fall arrest system, such as a safety harness, would have reduced the risk of falls.
On the day of the fall, the contractor and a supervisor were installing new corrugated iron sheets on the rooftop and neither were wearing a harness.
They were removing the old sheets one at a time, exposing an open void each time before it was covered by a replacement sheet.
After one of the sheets was removed, the supervisor turned his back and did not see the contractor fall.
The contractor was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries and placed on life-support before undergoing multiple surgeries.
Mr Jenkin said by failing to prepare and strictly follow a SWMS, this employer left workers unprotected.
“Sadly the injured person is now living with the disastrous consequences of that negligence,” he said.
WorkSafe urges employers to implement the highest possible measures to prevent falls in the workplace.
