Enforceable Undertakings
WorkSafe administers the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004, which provides for enforceable undertakings as an enforcement option. An enforceable undertaking is a legal agreement in which a person or organisation undertakes to carry out specific activities to improve health and safety for employees and deliver benefits to industry and the broader community.
WorkSafe has issued a Supplementary Enforcement and Prosecution Policy regarding enforceable undertakings which sets out a range of matters including when WorkSafe will accept undertakings under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
Publications
WorkSafe Victoria has accepted the following enforceable undertakings pursuant to section 16 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004.
This undertaking was provided by J Keogh Plumbing Pty Ltd and resulted from an incident on 27 May 2006 when 2 apprentices were observed to be working in a deep trench without any shoring. The undertaking required the Director, Jason Keogh, to undertake a presentation to Holmsglen TAFE, and, implement a range of improved work procedures concerning site supervision, confined spaces and safety management.
This undertaking was provided by Wodonga & District Turf Club Inc. and related to the alleged failure of Wodonga & District Turf Club Inc. to notify WorkSafe of an incident that occurred on 23 February 2006 as required by section 38 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004. Wodonga & District Turf Club Inc. undertook to implement and audit a written procedure for incident notification and publish an article in Racing Victoria newsletter titled "Inside Racing". The article will educate readers about the circumstances of the incident, notification requirements in Victoria and the measures taken be Wodonga & District Turf Club Inc. to prevent the alleged offences from occurring again.
This undertaking was provided by Guiseppe Cannella who was the sole director of Canfam Nominees Pty Ltd. The undertaking related to allegations of an alleged breach of a prohibition notice by Cannella. The prohibition notice prohibited all trenching works other than safety rectification work. It was acknowledged that the non-rectification work was performed by Canfam's Nominees Pty Ltd employees at the direction of Guiseppe Cannella. Guiseppe Cannella undertook to attend a Trench Shoring and Safety Course, Supervisor Trench Safety Awareness Course and Health and Safety Representative Course. Guiseppe Cannella also undertook to publish an article in the Civil Contractors Federation Bulletin to educate readers about the circumstances of the incident and prohibition notice requirements in Victoria.
This undertaking was given by the Defendant, which operates a fruit shop in Geelong. The defendant was prosecuted under the Occupational Health and Safety Act in relation to inadequate traffic management systems which included the use of forklifts in a public car park. The defendant has undertaken to have its principal officer complete an approved 5 day training course, place an approved advertisement in the Geelong Advertiser and contribute $5000 to the Salvation Army.
This undertaking was provided by David Denman, Director of DJ Denman Pty Ltd and related to his failure to provide a safe working environment to employees. An Inspector observed that between 10 January 2006 - 18 January 2006, employees of the company were exposed to risks of fall from height as a result of the absence of adequate guard rails and incomplete scaffolding. Denman has undertaken that both he and his site supervisor will complete a 5 day OHS course conducted by the Housing Industry Australia and make 3 presentations to apprentices at TAFE Box Hill to inform about the circumstances of the incident and the requirements of WorkSafe regarding contractor management. The company was also convicted and fined $40,000.
Mrs Crocket's Kitchen Pty Ltd entered into an enforceable undertaking after an investigation by WorkSafe of an incident on 5 May 2006. The investigation concerned that circumstances in which a 15 year old labour hire employee sustained partial amputation injuries whilst operating a packaging machine. Mrs Crocket's Kitchen Pty Ltd has undertaken to do a range of activities including the implementation of a Lock Out Tag Out (LOTO) project. The objective of the LOTO project was to develop specialist training and equipment for employees of Mrs Crocket's Kitchen Pty Ltd, which could be adapted with minimal customisation by the wider food industry. Mrs Crocket's Kitchen Pty Ltd undertook responsibility for the development of best practice information and resources kit that will fully explain and explore the critical elements of the LOTO system.
This undertaking was provided by Bruce Sartori, an employee of Workco Limited, which arranges placement of personnel to host employers. On 18 September 2006, Sartori was working for host employer, Johnson Asahi Pty Ltd, and engaged in unsafe work practices involving the operation of a forklift. Sartori has undertaken to complete an OHS course in the manufacturing sector (Certficate 3 in Fabrication) conducted by Horsham TAFE.
This undertaking was provided by JJ Richards & Sons Pty Ltd ("JJ Richards"), who were responsible for waste collection services (airline catering) at a rear loading dock site at Melbourne Airport. The undertaking is in relation to an incident where an employee of All A Glow Cleaning Services Pty Ltd ("All A Glow") was seriously injured whilst undertaking cleaning duties at the site. JJ Richards had no exclusion zones or warning systems in place (in conjunction with All A Glow) to prevent people entering the area whilst a waste skip was being removed. On 14 May 2007, an employee of All A Glow was crushed and injured by a waste skip that was being removed and loaded onto a prime mover that was owned and operated by JJ Richards. The skip bin lost traction from the prime mover and was propelled backwards, pinning the employee to a compactor. The injuries suffered included trauma to the left arm, (which later required amputation due to infection after surgery), fractured left leg; shattered knee and femur; five broken ribs and abrasions.
JJ Richards has undertaken to perform a range of activities including engaging a third party OHS consultant to review its OHS Management systems. JJ Richards will then develop and implement action plans from that review and engage an independent auditor to undertake two further audits of the OHS system over a period of 2 years, which will assess whether their OHS system conforms with the relevant Australian Standard. JJ Richards have agreed to implement corrective action where their systems fail to conform to that Standard.
JJ Richards has also undertaken to partake in an industry project in conjunction with the Victorian Waste Management Association where they will engage, at their expense, an engineer to develop a set of minimum standards for the design, operation and maintenance of bulk bins. A representative from JJ Richards will then publicise that standard to the industry via a series of roadshows and arrange for publication of the standard on the Victorian Waste Management Association website.
