A drilling company was fined $170,000 after pleading guilty to failing to ensure worker safety when a crane collapsed and injured a worker at a desalination plant in Wonthaggi, Australia. The injured worker suffered shoulder, back, leg, and other injuries. Crane incidents can occur from full or partial collapses, equipment failures, or negligent operation and pose dangers to workers through falling loads or dropped objects. Employers must ensure cranes are well-maintained and operated by trained personnel to prevent costly accidents.

1. Crane Collapse Results in $170K Fine
Source: OiMax
An incident that occurred in Victoria recently has highlighted the danger of working with cranes
for employees and the need for employers to ensure worker safety. The crane in question
collapsed on a worker, causing him to sustain serious injuries.
This post on Abc.net.au explain what happened:
A drilling company has been fined $170,000 after pleading guilty to a workplace safety
incident at the Wonthaggi desalination plant.
In the Korumburra Magistrates Court last week, PezzimentiLaserbore Pty Ltd pleaded
guilty to one charge of failing to ensure the safety of workers.
WorkSafe Victoria says the company was at fault when a crane collapsed and injured a
worker.
The injured worker suffered sustained shoulder, back, leg and other injuries.
The company was also ordered to pay almost $3,000 in legal costs.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-11-20/drilling-firm-fined-170k-over-crane-collapse/438
1552
There are numerous ways that workers in the vicinity of a crane can be injured. Crane incidents
include a full or partial crane collapse, ancillary equipment failure that endangers drivers,
workers and those in proximity, negligent mishandling or misuse of the lifting equipment by the
driver which usually restricts injuries to co-workers or objects dropped while being lifted.
The sheer size and enormity of a crane and its load can cause massive destruction if it
collapses and although this is rare, the incident in Wonthaggi proves that it can happen.
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2. Employers must be diligent when safeguarding workers against this type of incident.
Many crane accidents have also occurred where workers on site have been struck by loads that
were being moved or lifted due to negligence by the crane operator either through lack of
experience or training or a simple mistake often caused by communication difficulties. Ensuring
a good system of communication between the operator and those directing the load is vital to
good safety.
Loads that weigh tons can cause extreme damage to property, danger to workers and fatalities,
particularly on building sites. Another cause for concern when working with cranes is falling
objects. The whole purpose of a crane is to lift loads too heavy for manual lifting which implies
that the load is extremely heavy and most probably large, which could cause severe injuries and
fatalities if dropped onto workers below. Due to the heights that are often involved in a crane
accident even small falling objects can pose extreme danger.
One of the most important responsibilities of employers is to ensure that the equipment is well
maintained and operating properly because as proven in the incident above any failure with
equipment will result in costly fines for the company.
Another issue relating to crane safety is ensuring that operators are adequately trained and
supervised. Giving an untrained worker such powerful equipment is careless and foolish. Only
licenced operators should be allowed to operate such dangerous machinery. Also workers in the
vicinity of the cranes operation should be familiar with the basic safety rules of crane use
because any incidents may affect them as well.
http://www.whitecardonline.com.au/blog/my-category/crane-collapse-results-in-170k-fine/
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