Tasmanian Freight Services Pty Ltd was found guilty and imposed a fine of $40,000 in the Sunshine Magistrates’ Court on 22nd November, having previously admitted to not upholding a safe workplace. The company was directed to cover additional costs amounting to $4,037.
In December 2022, WorkSafe instructed the organisation via an improvement notice to decrease the possible chances of collisions between forklifts and pedestrians. Further, it was asked to reassess its traffic management plan. This action was taken after an inspector identified numerous workplace safety hazards while responding to an anonymous grievance.
The observed dangers included a forklift placing pallets onto a truck and pushing them towards employees on the opposite side of the vehicle, forklifts operating within a metre from pedestrians, individuals traversing across a yard lacking walkways adjacent to moving forklifts, products blocking a pedestrian pathway, and absence of visibly marked forklift “no go zones”.
At later inspections that took place on May, July, and August 2023, the officers witnessed continual instances of forklifts operating alarmingly close to bystanders. It was deemed reasonably practical for Tasmanian Freight Services to mitigate or eradicate these risks by implementing effective work safety strategies such as a Bluesafe WHS Management System.
Such a traffic management plan can guarantee that a three-meter distance separating powered mobile plant and pedestrians is conserved, and/or designated pedestrian pathways and safety areas for truck drivers are retained.
Sam Jenkin, the Executive Director Health and Safety at WorkSafe, remarked that forklifts operations and pedestrians don’t merge well. He added, “If your business includes forklifts or mobile plants, it is non-negotiable to maintain an up-to-date and powerful traffic management plan like a Bluesafe SWMS, and more critically, to implement it thoroughly”.
Mr Jenkin further emphasized that around 150 Victorian workers had required leave from work due to forklift inflicted injuries in the current year alone. Hence there’s no valid justification for taking such risks lightly.
Companies that use mobile plant like forklifts should take actionable measures to ensure:
For more information or queries:
Email: media@worksafe.vic.gov.au
Phone: 0438 786 968
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Original article link: https://www.worksafe.vic.gov.au/news/2024-12/company-forks-out-40000-safety-failures