$340K fine follows contractor injury where handrail on stairs gave way
A marine yard operator has been fined $340,000 (and ordered to pay more than $8500 in costs) after a contractor fell approximately 2.5 metres onto bitumen, fracturing both ankles, when the handrail on stairs gave way.
The incident occurred in December 2020 at a Henderson marine yard. SFM Marine Pty Ltd operated the marine yard, providing the service of lifting boats out of the ocean for commercial and private boat owners and placing them on hard stands to allow for maintenance work.
A boat had been placed on hard stands at the yard, with a set of stairs and top platform being used to access it. A contractor who had been engaged by a boat owner to fabricate and install handrails on the boat fell from the top platform.
The handrail on the stairs had given way when he leaned against it and he fell approximately 2.5 metres onto bitumen, fracturing both ankles. Due to his injuries, he experiences ongoing pain and restriction in his activities.
When it took control of the yard, SFM had acquired a number of sets of aluminium and steel stairs. Employees visually inspected the stairs and retained the ones they considered safe to use, including the set involved in this incident.
Though a visual inspection was carried out by the yard manager when he placed these stairs next to the boat, no formal procedures were in place for regular inspection and maintenance of the stairs. His visual assessment concluded that the handrail was intact because it was sitting in place, where it should be.
Prior to this incident, the yard manager had voiced concerns to a safety consultant that stairs were non-rated and missing handrails; however, the consultant’s observations and recommendations had not been received by SFM at the time of this incident.
It was an SFM policy requirement for visitors to sign in and complete an induction form, but the company did not consistently enforce the requirement for inductions to be completed. The injured man had not been instructed by the company to complete one.
SFM Marine Pty Ltd pleaded guilty to failing to provide and maintain a safe workplace and was fined in the Fremantle Magistrates Court on 15 October.
“In this case, the company depended on a simple visual inspection of the stair handrail,” WorkSafe WA Commissioner Sally North said.
“A safety consultant had observed cracked welds on at least one of the stairs; something that might have also been observed by the company if it had conducted closer examinations of the stairways.
“However, SFM did not have a formal process in place to ensure the stairs were regularly closely checked.
“Persons conducting a business or undertaking are advised to conduct a thorough risk assessment of the work and the workplace and must put controls in place to reduce the risk of injury to workers.
“This includes the risk of falls from height due to the failure of equipment.
“The company had a safety management plan that included a system for managing risks associated with working at heights, but it evidently did not include regular checking that the sets of stairs were safe to use.
“It’s not enough to conduct a risk assessment and come up with a safety management plan if that plan is not strictly followed, as this penalty demonstrates.”
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