CRANE operator Bruce Edwin Bannister has been fined $8,000 over a crane collapse on a construction site.
The operator pleaded guilty to failing to ensure how own safety and failing to ensure the safety of others.
The charges came following a March 2009 incident, when Bannister drove a crane to a construction site. He set up the crane with one of its supports (an outrigger) on soft sand and another support (the front jack) on a pile of bricks.
During a practice run without the load attached, the supports collapsed under the crane and it tipped over onto its right side and came to rest on the building under construction and the scaffolding.
The crane did not strike anyone on the site, but one worker had to run to avoid the falling crane.
According to WorkSafe WA, Bannister neglected to set the crane up on a solid foundation, a fundamental principle of crane operation. In doing so, he endangered himself and four other employees.
WorkSafe WA says the danger would have been even greater if the crane had been loaded.
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