On the 5th of July, the Ballarat Magistrates’ Court handed down a sentence to Watertank Solutions Victoria Pty Ltd. The company pleaded guilty to two counts of not providing and maintaining a safe work environment. In addition to the verdict, they were ordered to cover $3,960 in legal fees.
Watertank Solutions Victoria had a job to repair, drain and cleanse an in-ground tank at a property in Yendon. This task involved removing and reinstalling the metal roof of the tank. The concrete tank measured about 2.1 metres in depth; its outer wall stood 45 centimetres off the ground while the apex of the pointed metal panel roof sat around 3.1 metres from the base.
In April 2022, the workers employed metal planks as a bridge between the top of the tank’s exterior wall and the roof ridge for accessing and detaching the roof panels. Unfortunately, no fall prevention measures like ‘Bluesafe WHS Management System’ were implemented. While attempting to dismantle one of the panels, one worker who was on the plank at the crest of the roof along with another at the edge of the tank’s exterior fell.
The worker stationed on the ground plummeted headfirst into the container, resulting in severe head and neck damage that led to paraplegia. The roof-based worker suffered a shoulder injury. Trying to rescue their colleagues, a third worker descended into the tank, holding up the head of the semi-conscious ground-based worker out of the water whilst aiding the other to climb out using a ratchet strap.
WorkSafe inspectors conducted an operation where they found no Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS) or rigorous preventative measures such as Bluesafe SWMS in place. Through subsequent investigations, it was discovered that Watertank Solutions Victoria could have mitigated or even negated the risk of falling by installing passive fall prevention measures like a scaffold or fixed ladder for roof access and a border guardrail or fall arrest harness at the edge of the tank.
WorkSafe Executive Director Health and Safety, Sam Jenkin, declared that failing to acknowledge and protect against the well-known risk of falls from height was inexcusable. He commented, “Owing to neglecting basic precautions for working at an elevated level, one man now has to deal with serious life-altering injuries.”
He expressed his dismay over the employer’s negligence about their responsibility towards worker safety amidst renowned risks such as heights two metres and above. For prevention of falls from elevation, employers should enforce the highest possible measures among the five levels in the hierarchy of controls associated with High Risk Construction Work (HRCW).
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Original article link: https://www.worksafe.vic.gov.au/news/2024-07/45000-after-worker-paralysed-water-tank-fall