Cade Lucas
A timber truss manufacturer has been convicted and fined $200,000 for unsafe work practices following the death of a worker at a Point Cook construction site in 2020.
Melbourne Truss Pty Ltd was sentenced in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Thursday October 12 after earlier pleading guilty to a single charge of failing to ensure a workplace under its control was safe and without risks to health.
The company was also ordered to pay $11,234 in costs.
In March 2020, Melbourne Truss workers were using a vehicle-mounted loading crane to unload prefabricated timber floor trusses onto a concrete slab within the framework of a townhouse under construction at the site.
During the unloading, the crane operator was standing on the delivery truck tray, while his assistant was standing on the slab.
The incident occurred when a bundle of trusses being lifted by the crane made contact with a steel structure that formed part of the townhouse framework, knocking it inwards and striking the assistant in the face.
The worker fell backwards and struck his head on the concrete slab. He died at the scene.
The court found it was reasonably practicable for Melbourne Truss to have reduced the risk to health and safety by ensuring people were in a safe location during the unloading process.
WorkSafe executive director of health and safety Narelle Beer said the death was entirely preventable.
“This tragedy is a stark reminder for every employer using cranes to ensure safety is the first priority each and every time a load is lifted,“ Dr Beer said.
“Cranes and lifting equipment are an essential part of the daily work for many industries but work involving cranes is high risk and must be treated with the utmost care and caution.“
The ruling comes more than three years after the same company was fined $40,000 after one of its workers was seen being lowered by a crane from a two storey construction site to the back of a truck, without a harness.
In February 2021 Melbourne Truss Pty Ltd pled guilty to a single charge of failing to ensure the workplace was safe and without risk to health in relation to the incident which occurred in October 2018.
