A Victorian engineering firm has faced the Melbourne Magistrates Court over a workplace incident at a Mt Waverly construction site that saw nearby residents evacuated.
The company’s director and the company were both found guilty on one count each of failing to ensure people other than employees were not exposed to health and safety risks.
In February of 2015, the company confirmed and certified structural drawings for the development, a mixed commercial and residential development. These plans included a two-level underground car park, but it did not include an appropriate retention system to ensure the safety of workers and nearby structures during excavation.
Excavation work began in July 2015 and had been completed when a collapse occurred after several days of heavy rain, leaving two nearby properties at risk of collapse on the edge of the 10-metre deep excavation. The tenants of those properties were evacuated and had to find alternative accommodation.
The structural engineering company responsible for the plans for the excavation work, and its director, were fined a total of $240,000 in 2018 for workplace safety breaches.
WorkSafe Executive Director of Health and Safety Julie Nielsen explained that the collapse could have been catastrophic.
“Thankfully no one was on site at the time of the collapse and the homes that had to be evacuated didn’t fall into the pit,” Ms Nielsen said.
“But it’s clear this company and its director should have been aware both of the risk of collapse and the safety measures that would eliminate or reduce that risk.”
The engineering company was convicted and fined $250,000 and the sole director of the firm was also convicted and fined $60,000.