Issue Date:  -  Wednesday, 29 June 2005

Court case leads to reminder on preventing falls

A Perth plastering company has been fined $5000 for failing to provide edge protection on scaffolding after an employee was injured when he fell 3.3 metres to the ground.

Santex Plastering Contractors Pty Ltd was convicted in the Magistrate’s Court of WA Perth Registry last week of breaching Occupational Safety and Health Regulations by not providing edge protection in an area where there was a risk that a person could fall two or more metres from a scaffold.

In September 2002, the employer had erected a scaffold with a work platform 3.3 metres above the ground at a two-storey office complex in Myaree.

Most of the scaffold had two guardrails, but an angled section above the building entrance did not have a top guardrail.  This section was adjacent to a void that had been covered by a timber board loosely placed on the brickwork.

An 18-year-old employee who was engaged in rendering work reached up to a position just above this void and stepped onto the loose timber board, which gave way and caused him to fall through the void 3.3 metres to the ground.

The young employee sustained a back injury that now prevents him from undertaking plastering and similar physically demanding work.

WorkSafe WA Commissioner Nina Lyhne said today that the case illustrated the great care that must be taken to guard against falls from height.

“It is a sad fact that an average of two Western Australians die each year as a result of workplace falls,” Ms Lyhne said.

“There are also around 1260 incidents involving falls each year that result in injuries to WA workers, many of them serious and permanent as is the case with the young man involved in this incident.

“There have been five workplace fatalities as the result of falls this financial year in WA, which is very disappointing when you consider that falls from height are so easily preventable.

“Safe systems of work need to be in operation in all workplaces to guard against the possibility of any worker falling from height.

“The Commission for Occupational Safety and Health launched a revised code of practice for the prevention of falls in workplaces last year, and I encourage everyone to ensure this code is freely available in all workplaces where falls are possible.”

A code of practice on falls has existed in WA for the past 16 years, with the original code being initiated in response to the number of fatalities being recorded in the construction industry at that time.

The current code provides information on the identification of common fall hazards at all workplaces and the use of fall-arrest equipment and systems, along with chapters on general work practices such as the use of ladders.

It also has a strong emphasis on promoting safe design principles for buildings to eliminate fall hazards from the outset, in keeping with preventative strategies to eliminate hazards and control risks at the source.

“It need not be difficult or costly to ensure that suitable barriers or fall arrest systems are organised before a tragedy can occur.

“In this case most of the scaffolding was safe, but the small part that was neglected resulted in a young worker being injured unnecessarily.

“We need to keep in mind the potential cost of a death or serious injury – this cost is likely to be much higher, both in social and economic terms, than investing in safer work practices.

“I urge employers to ensure safe work practices are in place for anyone working at heights, and also to make sure the code of practice is freely available at the workplace.”

The Code of Practice on the Prevention of Falls in Workplaces is available by telephoning WorkSafe on 9327 8777, or on the website at www.safetyline.wa.gov.au.