Company convicted and fined for not acting on safety improvement notices

Failing to act on three safety improvement notices has cost a Victorian metal fabrication company three convictions and $11,000 in fines and court costs. Phil Fehring Engineering pleaded guilty to three counts of failing to comply with three safety Improvement Notices issued in 2006. The firm claimed it had been incorrectly advised by a consultant.

The three Improvement Notices required the retrofitting of operator restraints in its forklifts. Seatbelts were fitted to the company’s three forklifts several days before the court case at a cost of around $730 each.

Magistrate David Cottrill said if the company took appropriate advice and acted quickly, a lengthy legal process could have been avoided and the costs to the business substantially mitigated. Describing the company’s failings as serious with high stakes, he said the firm had “put its head in the sand”.

The company contested the validity of the notices through WorkSafe’s internal review process and then took one notice to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT), which endorsed WorkSafe’s authority to issue them.

Australian Standards have required operator restraints on new forklifts since 1995 and WorkSafe has a campaign to encourage employers to retrofit seatbelts on all forklifts manufactured before 1995 where reasonably practicable.

WorkSafe’s Executive Director John Merritt said safety improvement notices were central to the enforcement of Victoria’s OHS laws: “They are an opportunity to protect the business and its employees. While WorkSafe doesn’t issue fines, notices are a formal direction to make safety improvements.

“If you’re not happy with a notice, there is a no-cost internal review process. If there are still issues once that process is concluded, the matter can be taken to VCAT. Many people take these options, but doing nothing to resolve the identified issues frequently leads to prosecution.”

WorkSafe prosecutions only proceed after a comprehensive investigation of the facts and in cases of non-complied notices having given the defendant every opportunity to comply. WorkSafe also provides advice on engaging suitably qualified people as health and safety managers and consultants. A guide, Employing or engaging suitably qualified persons to provide health and safety advice, is available from WorkSafe’s advisory service.