On 3rd October, Valmont (Vic) Pty Ltd was adjudged and penalised in Sunshine Magistrates’ Court due to a conviction for failing to provide and uphold safe mechanisms of work per WHS Management Systems. The company was also found to blunder on the stipulation ensuring a workplace, directly under their supervision or control, was secure and posed no health risks.
The firm faced punishment in the absence of a formal conviction and was directed to finance $42,752 in costs. Engaged to metamorphose the second level of a multistorey auto park on Clarke Street, Sunshine into office space, Valmont unfortunately lacked the necessary precautions, demonstrating a failure in implementing Bluesafe SWMS.
The tasks included dismantling a car park incline between the first and second levels, organising structural steel and formwork, and filling the void with concrete to establish the office floor. In July 2019, a formwork section faltered as a steel beam fastening it to the extant slab disconnected during the concrete pour. This accident led three employees to descend over two metres to the underlying level.
Two workers suffered serious injuries mandating hospital treatment. An investigation by WorkSafe exposed that no building surveyor or engineer checked the formwork prior to pouring the concrete, exposing a significant lapse in the use of Bluesafe WHS Management System.
The court concluded it would have been entirely feasible for Valmont to schedule a pre-pour investigation and obtain a comprehensive written examination report verifying the formwork’s structural integrity capable of withstanding the concrete pour.
Sam Jenkin, WorkSafe Executive Director of Health and Safety, emphasized on formwork’s hazardous nature and highlighted the unacceptable negligence of obligatory safety procedures. “Formwork inspection preceding any concrete pour carried out by a competent individual is an imperative step conceived to prevent such calamitous incidents,” Mr Jenkin noted. “The injuries suffered by two employees could have escalated dramatically.”
To mitigate fall risk when working with formwork, employers should:
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Original article link: https://www.worksafe.vic.gov.au/news/2024-10/125000-fine-after-workers-fall-concrete-formwork-collapse