Waste pit gate amputation lands $580K fine

In Western Australia, a concrete manufacturing company has been fined $580,000 (and ordered to pay $6180 in costs) after a worker sustained serious injuries, leading to an amputation, at its Neerabup concrete batching plant. Ransberg Pty Ltd — trading as WA Premix — was fined in the Joondalup Magistrates Court, pleading guilty to failing to provide and maintain a safe workplace and, by that failure, causing serious harm to a worker.

The incident — in which a worker suffered serious harm when a large waste pit gate fell onto him — occurred in December 2020. 

Concrete-mixing process waste products are deposited into waste pits that are regularly drained and emptied. These waste pits, of steel and concrete, are four-walled boxes 3 m wide x 1.5 m high and have a removable front wall weighing around two tonnes, known as the waste pit gate.

The gate is held in place by four wedge pins. These pins lock into fittings on the side wall of the pit and are knocked out with a mallet once the gate is secured by a lifting chain attached to a raised front-end loader bucket. Emptying of waste pits is considered a two-person job — but was done at the plant by one person if no other workers were available.

The incident occurred when the worker knocked out three of the four wedge pins and went to retrieve the lifting chain. He could not find it, returned to the waste pit gate and knocked out the remaining wedge pin. The waste pit gate fell forward, hitting the worker first in the chest then continuing forward to strike his left leg above the knee, then his shin and ankle.

Multiple open fractures and other injuries were sustained that ultimately resulted in the amputation of his left leg below the knee. No supporting mechanism was in place to prevent the gate from falling if the lifting chains were not attached to the front-end loader bucket. It was an incident that was entirely preventable if a comprehensive risk assessment had been performed at the workplace, WorkSafe WA Commissioner Sally North said.

“Any risk assessment undertaken at this plant did not include the risk of the gate falling onto a worker, and also the risks present when just one worker performed this task,” North said. “At the time of this incident, there was no supporting mechanism in place to prevent the gate from falling if it wasn’t attached to the lifting chains. After the incident, two simple supporting blocks were welded to the front of the gate to hold it in place when the pins are removed.

“Further improvements have since been made that eliminate the need for lifting chains and a front-end loader, with forklift lifting pockets now added to the gates,” North said. “In addition, a more comprehensive safe work procedure was created which requires that two people complete the task of emptying the waste pits.”

North noted that the injured worker, along with the rest of the workers at the plant, had not received any formal training in emptying the waste bins — all relevant personnel have now undergone training in the relevant safe work practices. “If these actions had been taken sooner, the injured worker would have been spared the life-changing injury he suffered.”

North said, “This case is a reminder of the crucial importance of assessing every risk in a workplace in consultation with workers and putting into place safe work procedures that workers are trained in and are using.” She added that WorkSafe WA “has investigated or is currently investigating several incidents involving large gates and other similar barriers, including a tragic fatality that occurred in Welshpool only a matter of days ago”.

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