BORAL Resources (SA) has been fined after a 2007 workplace incident caused serious leg injuries to an employee.
The company pleaded guilty to one count of breaching section 19(1) of the Occupational Health Safety and Welfare Act 1986 in failing to provide a safe system of work and to maintain plant in a safe condition.
SafeWork SA says the incident occurred at Boral Resources’ Linwood Quarry. A male employee, tasked the removing picks from an excavator bucket, used a hardened steel sledgehammer for the job.
This caused shards of metal to splinter from the pick, entering his upper leg.
According to SafeWork SA, the employer had not provided the appropriate tool for the task in order to eliminate the risk of splintering metal.
The company had not carried out proper hazard identification or risk analysis for the task, and did not devise a safe work procedure.
The penalty was discounted by 25% due to the support offered by the company to get the employee back to work, its remedial measures, early guilty plea, contrition and cooperation.
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