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Lessons From History Summary of interesting OHS cases Bunnings and the Potting
Mix Supermarket shelves collapse - not reported to WorkCover NSW and risk to employees and customers.
In the ca The Sec. 86 charge was that the incident was a notifiable incident within the meaning of Clause 341 of the Regulation in that the incident involved damage to plant and equipment which impeded safe operation. And that the incident was a serious incident within the meaning of clause 344 of the Regulation in that it involved major damage to plant, namely the racking. BBC, being an occupier of premises, failed to notify WorkCover of the incident by the quickest available means immediately after becoming aware of the incident. BBC and Bunnings were engaged in retail sales of hardware. Their warehouses in Ashfield used Dexion racking, and the potting mix bay used this type of racking into which three pallets could be loaded into each bay. At approximately 3.30pm on 8 July 2004 whilst attempting to place a pallet of timber on the ground beneath the racking, the left corner of the pallet furthest from the forklift clipped the far left vertical upright of the racking, causing the fixture to collapse. The stock stored on the racking fell to the ground in the aisle and onto the forklift. The forklift driver was not physically injured by the falling stock, however the potential for serious injuries was high for the driver and any other person who may have been in the vicinity at the time. The yard was not only accessible by all employees of BBC, but also by customers. A number of managers of Bunnings attended the scene shortly after the incident and deemed the incident area as unsafe and quarantined the area. As a result of the incident the racking sustained major damage and needed to be completely replaced. BBC failed to report the incident to WorkCover once it became aware of the occurrence, but four days after the incident, WorkCover received a complaint by telephone regarding the incident. During the proceedings, it was heard that BBC and Bunnings relied on Dexion to conduct audits on all shelving and ensure that complex managers received the audit reports in order that any recommendations could be implemented. The previous audit report had identified a number of areas of racking at the premises, including the potting mix racking, as Code Red. The audit report described Code Red as requiring that immediate action be taken to rectify the identified defects. The court also heard that Employees of BBC did not know safe working loads of the racking and assumed it was 3,000kg and that they did not receive formal training in either the assessment of the weight of pallets and stock to be stored on the racking. There was also non-compliance with Australian Standard 4084-1993 'Steel Storage Racking' The WorkCover Inspector issued a number of Improvement Notices. Notice 7-60410 required Bunnings to implement a system of work to ensure that each new member of the OHS Committee undertook training with respect to that position as soon as practicable after the person's election to the Committee as well as Improvement Notice 7-60416 that required Bunnings to democratically elect an employee to the position of Chairperson of the OHS Committee.
The company was found guilty on three counts.
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