1. White Card Update: WorkSafe Warns Construction Site
Death a “Wake-up Call”
The Kingston circumstances which resulted in the death of a worker as a result of a concrete
mixer hitting into him has lead WorkSafe to label the incident a “wake-up” call to the industry.
The accident happened last week when the concrete mixer fell and trapped a 20 year old man
under the boom, resulting in his death.
This report by Abc.net.au has more:
Emergency crews were called to a worksite on the shores of Lake Burley Griffin in
Kingston just before 10.00am (AEST) yesterday.
They found a concrete pourer had fallen over, hitting three workers.
Firefighters say they managed to pull out a man in his early 20s trapped under the
boom, but he died at the scene.
The two other workers suffered minor injuries and are receiving hospital treatment.
The construction union’s Jason O’Mara says the dead man had only been in the job for
four weeks.
“This again is a tragic wakeup call for the industry. It’s our fourth fatality in Canberra in
the last eight months,” he said.
Worksafe ACT says early investigations suggest equipment failure may have caused the
accident.
Police will prepare a report for the coroner.
Source:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-07-21/construction-worker-killed-by-falling-concrete-bo
om/4145600
The reason for the accident has yet to be determined as the truck was recently serviced. Sadly
this is the fourth incident since December in which a worker has been killed in the ACT, 3 of
them occurring on construction sites. Incidents involving concrete mixers (or any plant or
machinery) can affect more than just the person operating the machine, other workers can also
be seriously injured.
Most importantly before attempting to operate a mixer, workers must be appropriately trained to
do so. Also workers should be supervised while performing the tasks involving the concrete
mixer.
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2. Some of the hazards that are present are catch hazards, flammable fuel hazards, electric shock
hazard, manual handling hazards, toxic exhaust fumes, skin (membrane) irritation from cement
or additives and ofcourse crushing or collision with the concrete mixer. Some of these hazards
are potentially extremely dangerous as in this incident, can result in death. Thankfully the other
workers involved were only injured and did not also lose their lives.
This report also by Abc.net.au has more:
ACT WorkSafe says another death on a Canberra construction site is a “wake-up call”
for the industry.
A 21-year-old man died at a worksite at Kingston on Saturday morning, when a piece of
equipment that is used to pour concrete collapsed.
The truck involved in the accident was serviced just three weeks ago and engineers will
examine the equipment.
It is the fourth workplace death in the ACT since last December, and three of those have
happened on construction sites.
ACT Work Safety Commissioner Mark McCabe says investigations into the latest death
will take several months.
“It is alarming for there to be so many injuries,” he said.
“It is a real wake-up call for the industry I think, that this is dangerous work that they’re
doing and safety cannot be compromised.
“If anything good can come out of tragedy it is that it’s bringing the industry together to
talk about how this situation can be avoided in the future.”
The ACT Government is moving to order an investigation into safety and culture on ACT
worksites.
Attorney-General Simon Corbell says any death at work is unacceptable and he wants
answers.
“We are now giving serious consideration to a broad-ranging investigation to try to
understand what are the issues with workplace safety and culture in the civil and
construction sector that may be contributing towards the death toll we are now seeing,”
he said.
Source:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-07-22/work-safe-alarmed-by-construction-site-death/4
146308
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3. ACT Government is paying particular attention to this incident to tackle the issue of death on
construction sites and what needs to be done to increase the safety on sites and reduce the
number of deaths. While this incident is still under investigation, there are few steps that
operators can take to avoid serious incidents.
There are particular activities that should be avoided. The following tips can help operators
minimise the hazards:
• Never use an electric mixer in the rain, this can result in electrocution
• Never use a petrol motor in a closed/ confined space
• Never use a mixer without guarding in place
• Never insert hands into a rotating bowl, this is especially dangerous and could result in the
loss of an arm or more serious injuries/ fatality.
• Regularly inspect the mixer bowl for consistency and suitability for the concrete mix.
• Never leave the mixer running while unattended
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