Fine for Melbourne company after concrete pump causes amputation

A concrete company based in Melbourne has been convicted and fined $30,000 after an incident involving a concrete pump resulted in a worker’s hand being partially amputated.

TP Structures Pty Ltd pleaded guilty in court to failing to provide a safe system of work and failing to ensure the site of a notifiable incident was not disturbed.

It’s understood the worker was setting up a truck mounted pump at a Malvern construction site in April 2022, when the incident occurred.

A grate with a hydraulic interlock valve was guarding the pump’s hopper, however, it failed when the worker reached into the hopper to clear debris. The swing tube inside the hopper activated, causing the worker’s hand to be trapped and partially amputated.

Following the incident, the company’s director drove the truck back to a storage yard instead of preserving the incident site for investigation.

TP Structures was also ordered to pay costs exceeding $5,500.

Inspections can help with prevention

This incident highlights the importance of completing regular inspections on machinery. We’ve spoken many times before about the need for risk assessments to be conducted on a regular basis but pre starts are also critical for preventing such events.

In this particular incident, had a pre start check been conducted on the concrete pump prior to operation, the faulty hydraulic interlock valve may have been identified and the machine could have been isolated until repairs had been conducted.

Pre starts are designed to be completed on a daily basis before machinery operation to help with the identification of faults between more formal inspections and risk assessments. Machinery is often used in rugged environments for hours each day, meaning issues are likely to arise more often than risk assessments are conducted. For this reason, pre starts are critical to maintaining machinery safety and compliance and the wellbeing of your people on site.

Ideagen Plant Assessor offers a free, digital pre start tool, Pre Start Plus. We recommend using the app to complete a pre start on each machine in your fleet prior to operation. Pre Start Plus allows you to:

• Complete machine-specific pre starts: select your machine from a database of more than 120,000 makes and models
• Instantly know the safety status of your machine: make informed decisions about operating or isolating the machine
• Identify issues: the instant issue report lists critical and non-critical issues to aid with quick rectification
• Share the results: quickly share pre start results with key stakeholders via email or SMS.

Find out more information here.

Want to learn more about pre starts and Pre Start Plus?

Our team of machinery experts is on hand to answer any questions you may have about keeping your fleet safe with pre starts. Simply contact us on 1300 728 852 or info@assessor.com.au.