Construction company fined $250K over sea container ramp death

A construction company has been fined $250,000 following the death of a 19-year-old worker who died after being struck by a sea container drawbridge ramp weighing around 250 kg.

The incident

The incident occurred in November 2021, when a PAWS Construction and Maintenance Pty Ltd employee assisting his supervisor to lower a sea container drawbridge ramp died after suffering a traumatic head injury when he was struck by the ramp.

Two pins held the ramp to be lowered in place. The first pin was removed and, before removing the second pin, the supervisor instructed the worker to stand to the left of the ramp — out of the drop zone. The ramp fell quickly to the ground when the second pin was removed, striking the worker, who then suffered fatal injuries.

A safe work procedure or instructions for the raising or lowering of the ramp had not been provided to the workers. To assist with the raising and lowering of the ramp, a winch was installed — but it was not maintained and was not operational at the time of the incident.

Fine and WorkSafe WA comment

PAWS Construction pleaded guilty to failing to provide and maintain a safe workplace and was fined $250,000 (and ordered to pay more than $6000 in costs) in the Fremantle Magistrates Court on Wednesday, 30 July.

PAWS Construction had been engaged by construction company M Construction (WA) Pty Ltd to complete the works, which included lowering of the sea container ramp; M Construction has also been prosecuted over the incident and will appear in court in September.

“This was a tragic incident that resulted in the death of a 19-year-old worker who had only been employed by the company for three weeks,” WorkSafe WA Commissioner Sally North said. “There was no documented procedure or instructions for the task, which clearly should have been treated as hazardous.

“After this incident, the ramp was removed from the sea container so there was no longer any need to raise or lower it.

“Being hit by falling objects is a high-risk area for injuries and fatalities in the construction sector and across other sectors, and I encourage workplace leaders to consult workers and review their controls in relation to preventing objects from falling.

“In considering the types of objects that can fall, it is essential not only to consider dynamic work tasks such as the movement of loads, but also other heavy materials that are installed or stored in such a way that they could fall if something goes wrong.

“Some examples are stored stone slabs, large industrial gates, roller doors and motors for roller doors, ramps that are required to be raised and lowered, and similar objects.”

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