Near-miss as 600 kg switchboard falls

Background

WorkSafe has received many reports about incidents involving the handling of electrical switchboards. These incidents had the potential to cause serious injuries.

One incident happened at a large construction project in Footscray, where the switchboard was moved to its final location. The 600 kg switchboard sat on laminated veneer timber planks.

Two employees were narrowly missed being struck as the switchboard became unstable and tipped over, while leveraging the switchboard off the planks.

Another incident involved a switchboard falling from a forklift travelling down a decline. The switchboard was secured to a skid — a type of pallet. The skid was without bottom deck boards and the tines were not captive. The switchboard’s high center of gravity caused it and the skid to tip over.

Safety issues

Switchboards can:

• be very large
• weigh several hundred kilograms
• have a high centre of gravity.

The large size and weight of switchboards, present hazardous manual handling risks to employees.

Poor manual handling techniques can cause musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and crush-related injuries. Poor techniques to avoid when handling switchboards include:

• using a series of thin metal rods to roll the switchboard to its location
• walking sideways or ‘crab walking’ switchboards to its location
• using multiple people to lift the switchboard instead of using mechanical aids.

Switchboards that are not secured can become unstable and can fall on employees while being handled, potentially causing crush-related injuries.

Recommended ways to control the risk

To reduce the risk of MSDs and crush-related injuries from handling electrical switchboards, employers should:

• ensure the weight and centre of gravity of the switchboard is known and marked
• ensure the switchboard is delivered as close as possible to its final location
• ensure the travel path is assessed and known
• use mechanical aids, such as a hydraulic switchboard trolley or forklift, to move and place the switchboard into its final location, or
• combine any of these risk control measures
• also, ensure that all equipment is suitable for the task.

Training that includes hazardous manual handling training, can help to protect employees and contractors from MSDs. However, training must not be the first option that employers use to control risks from hazardous manual handling. Use information, instruction or training to support the above risk control measures.

Legal duties

Under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 and Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017, employers must:

• provide and maintain a working environment that is, so far as is reasonably practicable, safe and without risks to health
• provide and maintain plant and systems of work that are, so far as is reasonably practicable, safe and without risks to health
• so far as is reasonably practicable, identify any hazardous manual handling undertaken, or to be undertaken, by an employee
• so far as is reasonably practicable, eliminate the risk of MSD associated with hazardous manual handling
• where the risk cannot be eliminated, it must be reduced, so far as is reasonably practicable by:
  • altering the workplace layout, workplace environment; or the systems of work
  • changing the things used in the hazardous manual handling
  • using mechanical aids, or
  • a combination of the above risk control measures
• if, after implementing the above control measures, the risk still remains, reduce the risk so as is reasonably practicable by using information, instruction or training review and, if necessary, revise any control measures implemented to control the risk of MSD associated hazardous manual handling.

Employers may only rely solely or primarily on the use of information, instruction or training to control a risk of a musculoskeletal disorder associated with hazardous manual handling where higher order control measures are not reasonably practicable.