A company specialising in automatic gate repairs has been fined $350,000 after a gate was left in a dangerous state during a repair, resulting in the death of a truck driver who accessed the site (WorkSafe Victoria v Gate Automation Systems Pty Ltd [2024]).

Gate Automation Systems Pty Ltd was engaged to repair a double automated gate system at a transport company’s site. Gate Automation Systems engaged a worker, who attended the site, removed the drive motor from the gate and took it off site for repair.

Removing the drive motor created a known risk that if the gate was operated manually, the gate could fall out of the steel posts holding it because it would be able to run on its rollers past the stop/close limit. To address this risk, the worker told the worksite manager to lock the gate and place a chain around the steel posts to ensure the gate could not move past the posts. The manager did not implement these steps.

When a truck driver later came to the site to collect his truck and equipment for the day, he manually operated the double gate. The gate fell from the steel posts and crushed the truck driver, who died at the scene.

Gate Automation Systems was charged and fined $350,000 in light of its failure to take the simple step of requiring its worker to place a chain over the gate and use a lock out tag out system to prevent the gate from being manually opened and used. It was clear that the responsibility for taking these steps lay with the company that had created the risk of injury.