Structural collapse leads to $850K enforceable undertaking

Following the collapse of a large section of structural steel framework at the Recreational Centre redevelopment, an enforceable undertaking will see a construction company spend a total of $850,000 to improve health and safety outcomes.

Engaged as the principal contractor for the project, the company was responsible for fabricating, supplying and erecting structural steel in accordance with design drawings and fabrication requirements.

In December 2021, the company was provided with a bundle of quality assurance documents for structural steelwork known as the GT1 truss, the fabrication of which had been sub-contracted to a company based in China.

In October 2022, a welded connection on the GT1 truss failed and a section of the partially erected recreational centre collapsed. No one was on site at the time.

The truss was not fabricated in accordance with design drawings and fabrication requirements, an investigation found. This means anyone on site near the unstable structure after it was erected in February 2022 was at risk of serious injury or death.

On 5 March, the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court heard that the company had entered into an enforceable undertaking while facing a single charge of failing to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, that a workplace under its management or control was safe and without risks to health.

The two-year undertaking requires the company to:

• Research, prepare and draft a detailed new Industry Standard for structural steel procurement, fabrication and erection — including a focus on welding quality assurance awareness and practical adaptive checklist forms and templates. The development of the standard is to be informed by at least three two-hour focus groups with industry specialists.
• Via webinar and made publicly available for three years, develop a package of three separate 1.5-hour training sessions that follow the content structure of the newly developed industry standard and organise an industry breakfast symposium to increase awareness of the new standard and training package.
• Donate $160,000 to the Victoria Local Learning and Employment Network.
   

If the undertaking is contravened or withdrawn, WorkSafe Victoria may reinstate the charges.

“It is essential that workplaces using imported steel have robust quality assurance systems in place to ensure the steelwork meets design requirements and industry standards so that people are protected from the risk of structural failure or collapse,” WorkSafe Victoria Chief Health and Safety Officer Sam Jenkin said.

“This comprehensive enforceable undertaking will ensure that over the next two years, ADCO contributes meaningfully to the wider construction industry by addressing any safety gaps with the latest information, research, standards and training to help prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.”

The sub-contractor that engaged the company that fabricated the GT1 truss is also facing charges in relation to the incident.

Image credit: iStock.com/chrisdorney. Stock image used is for illustrative purposes only.