A leading Australian construction company has been fined $130,000 over the death of a worker who was killed after the haul truck he was driving fell 15m in an open pit mine.
Hanson Construction Materials Pty Ltd (Hanson) pleaded guilty to failing to maintain a safe work environment in Western Australia‘s Midland Magistrates Court on Monday.
The incident occurred on June 20, 2019, at Hanson’s Red Hill quarry, about 30km northeast of Perth, where aggregate or ‘blue metal’ was being mined.
A construction company has been fined $130,000 over the death of a worker in a WA mine
The truck was travelling along a road carved into the outer wall of the quarry, known as a ‘bench’, which at one point went from a width of 11m to 6.5m.
On one side of the bench road was a sheer drop.
The experienced driver, who had been working at the quarry for seven months, had restricted visibility of about 7m to ground level due to the size of the truck.
At about 6.50am, a front wheel of the truck went over the edge of a narrow part of the road, tilting the vehicle and causing it to topple to the bench below.
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It was found Hanson failed to meet safety thresholds or recommended safety features in the construction of a barrier along the edge of the bench to deflect vehicles, known as a ‘windrow’.
Acting WorkSafe chief inspector Mines Christina Folley said the tragedy could have been avoided.
A construction company has been fined $130,000 over the death of a worker in a WA mine
‘This incident is a timely reminder that all companies should make worker safety their number one priority,’ she said.
‘Hanson Construction Materials should have conducted a risk assessment of the haul truck operation on the bench where the incident occurred.
‘The company failed to implement these practicable measures in a consistent and adequate way.’
The company was not charged with causing the worker’s death and was also ordered to pay $4,000 in costs.
Hanson has since significantly increased the height of the windrows on the bench and improved its composition, according to the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety.
