EWP Fatality Fine

A Victorian plumbing company and an equipment service provider have been fined a combined $630,000 following the death of a worker operating a boom lift at a construction site.

The worker was fatally crushed between the Elevating Work Platform (EWP) and overhead steelwork. The lift’s operator-protection alarm had been disconnected, no spotter was being used, and there was no system requiring documented daily pre-start inspections.

The employer was fined $400,000 for failing to provide safe plant and a safe system of work. The service provider was fined $230,000 because its technician serviced the EWP on the morning of the incident but failed to identify the disconnected alarm and remove the machine from service.

The case demonstrates that responsibilities for hired or serviced plant are shared. Employers must still conduct effective pre-start inspections and manage task-specific risks, while service providers must identify safety-critical defects and prevent unsafe equipment from returning to operation.

A reminder for employers that use EWP to:

• Function-test alarms and secondary guarding during every pre-start inspection.

• Immediately tag out plant with defective or bypassed safety devices. Have danger tags available.

• Assess overhead crushing and entrapment hazards before work begins.

• Provide a trained safety observer (especially when manoeuvring a the boom type EWP with overhead obstructions)

• Document servicing, defect reporting, repairs and return-to-service approval.

• Confirm operator licensing and familiarisation with the specific EWP.