Second workplace death in six years at Bassendean firm ‘clearly a concern’: WorkSafe
Hofmann Engineering was found guilty of not being able to provide and maintain a safe workplace and causing the death of a worker with this failure, and was fined at the end of 2024.
In this case, the Perth Magistrates’ Court was told that there was no manufacturer’s guide or maintenance record book for 40 -year -old machines known as the source manipulator, and the checks were limited to the control of the buttons, allowing the machine to go up and down and did not make an unusual sound.
The court was told that the source manipulator was not used for several years and that he was kept in the warehouse in May 2019 only months before the accident.
Independent experts found that the yarns on the hazelnuts at the center of the upgrade of the mechanism were worn to the extent that they could not protect their loads, and that the grease on the “screw drive” mechanism had a abrasive effect on equipment rather than a abrasive effect.
Hofmann Engineering was fined $ 567,000 and paid $ 28,695 for court costs.
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After the accident, the company developed a guide to visually examine the lead manipulators and a guide to visually examine the security nuts and trained operators in a new secure work procedure.
In addition, he installed an emergency autumn system of manipulators to prevent the explosion from passing through a safe point and installed and watched the service and maintenance history of eight machines in the workplace using screw drive mechanisms.
WA police will prepare a report for Coroner about the death of the workplace on Monday.
On Tuesday, the company said that he had fully cooperated with the authorities to determine the conditions surrounding the workplace accident and that support and consultancy services were offered to employees.
“Our deepest sympathies and condolences wish to go to our team, friends and colleagues at this difficult time,” he said.
“The security and prosperity of our employees is our highest priority, and this event is handled with maximum seriousness.”
The business operated by the family is a production expert and one of the more remarkable projects is the production of 246 Bigie frames for Metronet’s new C series trains in 2020.
Wa Premier Roger Cook extended his condolences to the worker’s family on Tuesday.
“When someone went to work for their families, and when they have the right to wait for them to go home without being injured at night and without loss of life,” he said.
“Many workplaces are dangerous by nature, and therefore we have put a lot of work for occupational health and safety to ensure that we can keep people safe in workplaces.”
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