Civil construction firm convicted after failing simple safety steps

26 November 2007

A County Court judge has told a major civil engineering company it was responsible for the death of a worker because it failed to take positive steps to ensure the safety of a worker who died in July 2003.

Judge Damian Murphy said Dandenong-based FRH Victoria Pty Ltd was responsible for the death of 29-year-old Frankston labourer, Grant Cocks, as it failed to provide written or verbal work instructions/job sheets and job safety assessments (JSAs).

He found Mr Cocks would not have died if the company followed procedures that were reasonably practicable to implement.

FRH Victoria Pty Ltd pleaded guilty to two counts of failing to provide safe systems of work. The plea was entered after the trial had run three days.

The company was convicted on both counts and fined $120,000 today.

Mr Cocks fell into the Henry Road, Pakenham, sewer while repairing access steps.

The judge rejected the company’s claim that Mr Cocks was responsible for his own death saying safety failings had developed over time which led to a reliance on employees’ discretion in matters relating to safety.

Judge Murphy said the only inference that could be drawn was that Mr Cocks and a co-worker were at Henry Rd to repair the steps leading into the sewer.  

They had been provided with a compressor and drill which were later used to attempt to repair the steps.

He said the company had not  - produced a job sheet outlining the work to be done or the location of the job so that emergency services could be called if needed.

• provided the two workers with a job safety analysis (JSA) which would have described the work to be done and the steps needed to ensure it was done safely.
• obtained from South East Water the proscribed entry permit to access the sewer into which Mr Cocks fell.

WorkSafe’s Executive Director, John Merritt, said job safety assessments were a simple and common means of identifying the controls needed to eliminate hazards in the construction industry.

“They can prevent tragedies like this. They can help spare individuals and families pain and suffering. They can spare companies significant commercial consequences.”

The JSA provides a written record of the process to be used to proceed on a task.

As it is a record that can be used in court, it should be signed off by the parties who have responsibility for the tasks.

Management processes must also be in place to ensure workers have the skills to complete the job and that there is a required level of supervision to ensure the tasks are completed as documented.”

Information about JSAs and downloadable worksheets can be found at worksafe.vic.gov.au.