A Victorian sheet metal fabrication and manufacturing company which failed to make safety improvements to protect workers from injury recently pleaded guilty to two charges of failing to comply with improvement notices issued by a WorkSafe Victoria inspector.
The company, TAC Metal Industries Pty Ltd, was placed on an adjourned good behaviour undertaking for 18 months, without conviction, and was also ordered to pay $10,000 to the Ringwood Magistrates’ Court fund.
The prosecution followed a visit from a WorkSafe inspector to the company in October 2009. The inspector issued two notices requiring specific safety improvements to be made within a set timeframe.
During a follow-up visit in November, the inspector found the safety improvements hadn’t been made within the timeframe. One month later in December, the company still hadn’t undertaken the safety improvements required by the notices.
“Improvement notices are legal notices which direct a company or a person to make safety improvements by a certain date,” said Ian Forsyth, WorkSafe Victoria’s executive director for health and safety.
“Each notice gives suggestions for how improvements can be made, and the inspector issuing the notice is also available to discuss possible avenues towards compliance.”
The first improvement notice issued to TAC Metal Industries required the company to control risks of musculoskeletal injuries to workers lifting hitch assemblies off the floor and onto a work bench.
The second notice required an air receiver forming part of a compressor unit in operation at the workplace to be inspected and monitored for risks like explosion. The company was required to implement an inspection regime in accordance with the manufacturer's specifications and the relevant Australian Standard.