A Melbourne company has been fined after an employee was injured when they were struck by a 200kg load of steel beams.
The incident happened in July 2020 when a woman was using an overhead travelling crane to lift and load steel beams onto a truck.
According to Worksafe, the beams “shifted”, hitting and trapping the worker underneath.
The woman was taken to hospital and required surgery.
WorkSafe investigated the incident and found the worker, employed by Spartan Steel Industries, did not hold a required high-risk work licence and “was therefore not trained in the slinging techniques she was applying during the lift”.
The Altona North company faced the Melbourne Magistrates Court last Wednesday after pleading guilty to a single charge of failing to provide and maintain a safe workplace.
The court heard it was “reasonably practicable” for Spartan Steel Industries to have ensured lifts were only conducted by trained workers and to have provided training so that its workers could get a high-risk work licence.
The steel frame manufacturer was fined $40,000 without conviction and ordered to pay $12,213 in costs.
Source: 7News
