Competent inspections of concrete formwork ‘crucial’: Collapse leads to $125k fine

A construction company has been fined $125,000 after second-storey formwork failed during a concrete pour at Sunshine.

Valmont (Victoria) was sentenced in the Sunshine Magistrates Court on Thursday, 3 October, after being found guilty of failing to provide and maintain a safe system of work, as well as one charge of failing to ensure a workplace under its management or control was safe and without risks to health.

The company was originally contracted to convert a second level of a multi-storey car park in Clarke St, Sunshine, into an office space. The job involved removing a car park ramp between levels one and two, installing steel and formwork, and pouring concrete into the void to complete the new office floor.

Back in July 2019, a section of the formwork collapsed when a steel beam attaching it to the existing slab broke away while the concrete was still being poured, causing three workers overseeing the operation to fall more than two metres onto level one below.

Two workers involved in the fall were taken to hospital after sustaining serious injuries.

The investigation by WorkSafe found that it was reasonably practicable for the company, Valmont, to “have arranged a pre-pour inspection and to have obtained a written inspection report certifying that the formwork was structurally sound to support the concrete pour”.

As WorkSafe executive director Sam Jenkin clarified, there is always a high risk when working with formwork and that there is no excuse for omitting important safety processes.

“Having a competent person inspect formwork before a concrete pour begins is a crucial step designed to avoid exactly this kind of disastrous scenario,” said Jenkin.

“In this case, two workers were injured, and it could very easily have been much, much worse.”

WorkSafe offered recommendations for employers who may be engaging in this kind of work going forward.

• Ensure a competent person produces a formwork design capable of supporting the expected dynamic and static loads.

• Have systems in place to formally sign off a formwork deck as structurally sound, complete, and safe for other trade workers to use as a work platform.

• Provide employees undertaking construction work with site-specific training, including the onsite risks associated with formwork decks.

• Ensure high-risk construction work is not performed unless a Safe Work Method Statement is prepared and followed.

• Use a fall arrest system, such as a catch platform or safety nets.