A Victorian company has been fined $225,000 after a manager was fatally crushed inside a shipping container.
The 56-year-old and four others were emptying stacks of panels weighing more than 3.5 tonnes in January 2020.
As the group removed one panel several others fell, which pressed the manager against a container wall.
The court was told Prestige Truck Bodies used panels packed in shipping containers that could only be unloaded manually and they had become loose in transit.
The truck body manufacturer previously pleaded guilty to one charge of failing to provide or maintain safe systems of work so far as was reasonably practicable.
WorkSafe health and safety executive director Narelle Beer said employers must ensure they had safe systems in place, and the risk of removing heavy loads from shipping containers was well known.
“Once a load begins to fall, there’s often no opportunity to escape for anyone inside a container and the consequences are all too often deadly,” Dr Beer said.
“Duty holders should never allow workers to attempt to unload a shipping container that has not been safely packed, and WorkSafe will continue to prosecute those who put workers in harm’s way.”
The workplace health and safety regulator says companies should consult with suppliers about best shipping configuration for them.
Source: Nine News
