In Victoria this week, a timber and building supply company has entered into a substantial enforceable undertaking in substitution for a prosecution relating to a near-miss incident in which a number of workers were exposed to potential serious injury from misuse of forklifts (WorkSafe Victoria v Bowen & Pomeroy’s Proprietary Limited [2024]). 

Bowen & Pomeroy Proprietary Limited is in the business of selling timber and building supplies and, in addition to operating 16 stores across Victoria, manufactures prefabricated timber operating out of factory. 

Forklifts with a rotating attachment are used in the factory to empty small wooden bins with timber offcuts into a larger bin. On 21 April 2022, a worker tried to use the same type of forklift to empty the load from a large blue dumpster bin into a container, a task that he had not done before. The forklift with the rotational attachment did not have the capacity to lift the bin, and the worker placed the tynes in the wrong position on the bin. A number of workers assisted in the task by using another forklift to hold up the dumpster bin and tried to manually push the bin back onto the tynes of the first forklift. In the course of this activity, the first forklift toppled over, fortunately not causing any injury. 

The company was charged with breaching the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (Vic) for failing to provide a safe system of work for the use of the forklift with the rotating tyne attachment, and failing to provide proper training and supervision. 

The enforceable undertaking 

The Company agreed to undertake the following steps in substitution for the prosecution:

1. Upgrade all of its forklifts to include AI and sensory systems.
2. Produce an educational video on no-go zones and conduct at least three information sessions.
3. Partner with Chisholm TAFE to deliver presentations to its students undertaking a Certificate III in Mobile Plant Technology about the circumstances of the incident, practical approaches to developing and maintaining safe work methods, and how the company has since enhanced its systems.
4. Partner with Deakin University’s ManuFutures program and the Institute for Intelligent Systems Research and Innovations to conduct a research study to assess the feasibility of developing a technology-based safety system that can protect a nail gun operator and nearby persons from line of fire injuries.
5. Donate $10,000 to the Australian Institute of Health & Safety’s OHS Body of Knowledge program.