Contractor Falls Through Skylight
No Work at Heights Permit System and Inadequate SWMS
A judge has levied a significant fine on a construction company, after it was revealed, a worker suffered severe injuries in a fall less than a month after a safety inspector alerted the company to shortfalls in its working at heights policy.
The SafeWork NSW inspector "specifically drew attention to the failings of the company’s system for working at height", but "no adequate action was implemented", NSW District Court Judge David Russell said.
The company, 2 Types Construction, was contracted to manage the refurbishment of a school building at St Ursula's College in Kingsgrove.
In April 2022, a worker employed by a subcontractor on the job fell four metres through an unmarked skylight.
The general labourer of a firm sub-contracted to remove asbestos from the site, had accessed the building's roof to look for lost keys and stepped on the skylight, which was only covered by a three-millimetre-thick sheet of plastic.
The worker suffered a fractured eye socket, broken wrists and a broken nose, and was put in an induced coma in hospital.
On the day of the incident, none of the skylights in the work area were covered or barricaded and there was no safety mesh under the roof.
The principal contractor was charged with breaching sections 19 "Primary duty of care" and S.32 "Failure to comply with health and safety duty – Category 2" of the NSW Work Health and Safety Act.
In assessing the “2 Types” degree of culpability, Judge Russell noted it did not have a work at heights permit system, despite SafeWork asking it to provide one prior to the fall.
Judge Russell also noted that MB's safe work method statements (SWMS) did not address the risk of falls, and “2 Types” did not provide the asbestos sub-contractor with any feedback on this shortcoming.
Significantly, Judge Russell pointed out that just weeks before the fall, the visiting inspector found there was no system of work for high-risk height tasks, and no SWMS for the works being carried out.
Risks were observed relating to working at heights without edge protection and fall arrest systems.
The inspector issued WHS compliance advice to “2 Types” managers, but it wasn't followed.
Judge Russell added that while the asbestos sub-contract labourer had been specifically ordered not to access the roof area, there was nothing preventing him or anyone else on the site from getting on the roof via the scaffolding.
He noted that “2 Types” had been in business since 2010 without a previous conviction, and it had made a range of changes to improve general safety and working at heights safety on its sites since the incident.
The firm “2 Types” was fined $270,000, plus costs, after reduction for the early guilty plea.
