Government of Western Australia | A Welshpool drill services company has been fined $897,500 (and ordered to pay almost $6,500 in costs) over the death of a worker in 2023.
Airdrill Pty Ltd pleaded guilty to failing to provide and maintain a safe workplace and was fined in Perth Magistrates Court.
The company provides services relating to drill rigs, including design, manufacture, and commissioning of new rigs and the maintenance, servicing and refurbishment of existing drill rigs.
The use of overhead cranes is a common part of the Airdrill operation, but the company did not have any documented risk assessment or safe systems of work for the use of overhead cranes at the workplace. There was no procedure in place to ensure that complicated lifts were properly planned and supervised.
In February 2023, an Airdrill employee suffered fatal crush injuries when he attempted to move a skid mounted mud pump (skid assembly) on a trailer that had been placed on trestles.
The weight of the skid assembly and its centre of gravity were not known or assessed at any time prior to the incident and the skid assembly was placed on the trestles in an improvised configuration that meant it was inherently unstable and prone to tipping.
The worker was assigned to work on the skid assembly after it had been lifted onto the trestles. At the time the incident occurred he was standing on the skid assembly and operating the overhead crane using a handheld crane control pendant when the trailer unexpectedly tipped sideways, trapping him between the chain from the overhead crane and a handrail on the skid assembly.
The worker was a licensed dogger and would have had some knowledge of how to connect loads to cranes, however Airdrill did not provide verification of competency or training and did not require the worker to complete a risk assessment and lift plan before doing the job.
