A Reservoir bricklaying company recently paid the price for failing to observe scaffold loads.

When WorkSafe investigators visited the Prahran construction site in February 2009, they discovered that:

• The scaffold was overloaded by more than double the safe limit
• The bricks were not evenly distributed across the platform
• The Company’s employees were not properly trained in unloading and stacking bricks
• There was no supervisor on site to ensure that the job was done correctly

In the Melbourne Magistrates Court, the company pleaded guilty to failing to provide a safe workplace and failing to ensure that the public was not exposed to health and safety risks. They were convicted and fined $100,000 and ordered to pay nearly $4000 in costs.

A WorkSafe representative expressed his opinion that overloading scaffolds was a significant and serious breach. “Overloaded platforms can cause scaffold to collapse and may lead to grave consequences, not just for workers, but to members of the public,” he said.