WorkSafe

A registered builder has been fined $22,000 (and ordered to pay $900 in costs) after an apprentice fell six metres from trestle scaffolding and was seriously injured last year.

Stephen John Gregson – trading as Gregson Constructions – pleaded guilty to failing to provide and maintain a safe work environment and was fined in the Joondalup Magistrates Court on Friday.

In August 2017, Mr Gregson and two employees, one a qualified carpenter and the other an apprentice carpenter, were completing work on a two-storey timber-framed house in Two Rocks.

A proactive inspection program undertaken by WorkSafe to look at safety in specific types of retail outlet in WA has uncovered concerns with electricity, falls from height, manual tasks and emergency precautions.

The program involved WorkSafe inspectors visiting retail stores including those selling clocks, craft goods, duty free, firewood, musical instruments, pets and pet accessories, swimming pools and tobacco products in Perth and regional areas of the State.

A crane operator has been fined $4400 (and ordered to pay $4700 in costs) after he overloaded a crane and injured another worker when the crane collapsed.

Robert Anthony Hoekzema pleaded guilty to failing to take reasonable care to avoid adversely affecting another person and was fined in the Perth Magistrates Court on Thursday.

In June 2015, Mr Hoekzema was employed as a casual crane operator under the direction of H’VAR Steel Services Pty Ltd on a project managed by Doric Construction.

WorkSafe will soon begin an inspection program looking at the issue of violence and aggression in organisations providing community health care services.

The program will focus on nursing professionals, health and welfare support workers and personal carers who work in clients’ homes or community settings, and will continue over the next six months in metropolitan and regional areas of the State.

WorkSafe Director Sally North said that inspectors would primarily look at how employers managed the risk of violence and aggression for workers.

A company that supplies and installs underground services and its Director have been fined a total of $69,500 (and ordered to pay a total of $4391.00 in costs) over an incident in which a worker sustained serious permanent injuries.

Sunchaser Enterprises Pty Ltd pleaded guilty to failing to provide and maintain a safe workplace and, by that failure, causing serious harm to an employee, and was fined $45,000 in the Northam Magistrates Court yesterday.

The State Government agency that operates HBF Stadium has been fined $90,000 (and ordered to pay $2100 in costs) over the death of a worker who fell through a skylight in the roof of the stadium.

Western Australian Sports Centre Trust – trading as VenuesWest – pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that persons at the workplace were not exposed to hazards, and was fined in Perth Magistrates Court today.

A scaffolding company has been fined $90,000 (and ordered to pay $2100 in costs) over the death of a worker who fell through a skylight in the roof of the stadium.

Perth Aluminium Scaffolds Pty Ltd pleaded guilty to failing to provide and maintain a safe work environment and was fined in Perth Magistrates Court on Friday.

In June 2016, HBF Stadium operator VenuesWest contracted a painting company to undertake external painting work on the stadium, and this company in turn subcontracted Perth Aluminium Scaffolds to erect and remove scaffolding on the stadium roof.

A rigger has been fined $4000 (and ordered to pay $10,000 in costs) over an incident in which two construction workers were crushed by a tilt-up panel in the city in 2015.

Benjamin Paul Botica pleaded guilty to failing to take reasonable care to avoid adversely affecting the safety or health of others, and was fined in the Perth Magistrates Court today.

WorkSafe has been conducting a proactive inspection program to look at safety and health issues in stone benchtop fabricators.

The program will be conducted for the remainder of this financial year, and will continue throughout the 2019/20 financial year.

WorkSafe WA Commissioner Darren Kavanagh said the inspection program was initiated in response to serious concerns raised in Queensland last year.

“WA has recorded two confirmed cases of silicosis in workers in the stone fabrication industry so far, but the numbers are much higher in other States,” Mr Kavanagh said.

WorkSafe is conducting a proactive inspection program to look at safety issues in glass product manufacturing workplaces across WA.

The program will continue until the end of the 2019/20 financial year, and will include glass product manufacturers in metropolitan and regional areas of the State.

WorkSafe Director Chris Kirwin said today an inspection program was being undertaken in this area because several serious injuries had been recorded in the industry.