Construction company fined $60,000 over collapse of tilt-up panel
Issue Date: - Tuesday, 3 March 2009
A construction company has been fined a total of $60,000 over the collapse of a seven-tonne tilt-up panel on a West Leederville site in 2007.
JBT Corp Pty Ltd pleaded guilty to three charges under the Occupational Safety and Health Regulations and was fined $20,000 on each charge in the Perth Magistrates Court on Friday.
JBT Corp had been contracted to construct a new office/warehouse in Oxford Street, West Leederville. The company was the main contractor at the construction site, which involved tilt-up panels.
JBT Corp had contracted a concrete company to supply and install the concrete panels, and this company had in turn contracted a rigging company to erect the panels and remove the braces upon completion of installation of the structural steel.
In March 2007, two workers employed by the rigging company were instructed to secure the concrete panels to the steel roof framing and then remove the braces, which were bolted into place.
These two workers commenced the work, but were required at another site and handed over the completion of the task to two other riggers employed by the company.
One of these workers subsequently unbolted and removed the brace supporting one of the concrete panels prior to securing that panel to the steel roof. The panel – which was almost eight metres high and 2.5 metres wide and weighed seven tonnes – fell outward to the ground.
These actions failed to comply with the provisions of the relevant Australian Standard, adopted by the Regulations.
WorkSafe WA Commissioner Nina Lyhne said today that the case illustrated that all possible precautions needed be taken when undertaking tilt-up construction work.
“Tilt-up construction is high-risk work and the regulations are there to ensure that the risks are avoided, or at least kept to a minimum,” Ms Lyhne said.
“An enormous amount of time and resources has been invested in lessening the risks involved in tilt-up construction over recent years, and this case illustrates the importance of complying with the laws.
“Fortunately no-one was injured as a result of this incident, but it really was simply good luck that no-one happened to be in the area in which the panel fell.
“An additional problem was that one of the riggers working on the panel that collapsed had not completed an approved course on tilt-up work, and training is absolutely vital to working safely in tilt-up construction.
“We have seen the tragic consequences of not sticking strictly to the laws where tilt-up construction is concerned, and everyone involved in the industry needs to ensure that safety is the top priority on site.
“A comprehensive Code of Practice on Tilt-up and Precast Concrete Construction has been available for some years, and copies of this code should be made available on all sites where tilt-up work is taking place.”
Further information on tilt-up and precast concrete construction is available by telephoning WorkSafe on 9327 8777 or on the website at www.worksafe.wa.gov.au. Copies of the Code of Practice can be purchased for $3.30 per copy, or downloaded from the website at no cost.
Media contact: Caroline De Vaney 9327 8744 or 0408 927563 (media enquiries only).