Tragic workplace death results in $50k fine

A Balwyn North concrete pumping company has been convicted and fined $50,000 after a concrete boom pump snapped and fatally struck a worker.

Last week, Prisbel Concrete Pumping was sentenced and ordered to pay $8,179 in the Melbourne Magistrates Court after earlier pleading guilty to a single charge of failing to provide or maintain safety for its workers.

The court heard that the experienced pump operator was using a truck-mounted pumping machine fitted with a 32-metre boom pump, which he was pouring a concrete slab with at St Albans construction site in May 2021.

As the 40-year-old worker was pumping the last of 10 loads of concrete while standing in the slab, the extended boom collapsed and struck the worker on the back of his head, knocking him into the concrete and tragically causing fatal injuries.

The WorkSafe investigation discovered that the boom collapsed and failed as a result of a metal fatigue crack, which caused the king post, inside the turret, to subsequently snap in half.

According to the Construction and Building Materials journal, metal fatigue cracks can propagate because of alternating mechanical stresses. In technical components, they usually start (on surfaces) at points of stress concentration caused by abrupt changes in the component cross-section and all kinds of surfaces. These cracks, however, can be detected through regular check-ups.

In this situation, the court heard that the cracks may have been detectable for a year or more prior to the boom snapping. This could have been discovered had the king post been removed from the pump and inspected.

Regular inspections were arranged by Prisbel for the boom pump since the company purchased it back in 2010; however, none had involved the disassembling aspect that was needed to discover the crack. Having a disassembling unit testing critical components (such as the king post) is recommended periodically under Australian Standards.

The conclusion drawn from WorkSafe is that it was reasonably practicable for Prisbel to reduce the risk of the concrete pump collapsing by conducting a major inspection, including non-destructive testing of the king post.

WorkSafe executive director health and safety Sam Jenkin said WorkSafe won’t hesitate to take action against companies that fail to do all they can to provide a safe workplace, which, in this instance, was a more thorough inspection into the boom pump.

“Tragically, a worker has lost his life, leaving behind devastated family and friends whose lives will never be the same, as a result of a terrible incident which could have been prevented,” said Jenkin.

“Proper safety testing and maintenance is crucial when working with machinery – it’s just part of doing business, and there’s no excuse for failing to test regularly and thoroughly.”