Warehouse risk management failures lead to $35,000 fine

It is important that warehouses have correct control measures to mitigate risks from hazards that exist in the workplace. A common hazard in warehouse environments is forklifts.

A business must provide a health and safety management system that ensures staff are not placed at risk in the workplace. Warehouses present a range of well-known safety risks, so well-documented, in fact, that regulatory bodies and courts expect organizations to proactively manage them. Failure to do so is unlikely to be met with leniency in the event of an incident.

There have been multiple incidents, some of them even involving fatalities.

• In 2023, a warehouse worker in his mid-30s died at Westmead Hospital after being crushed by a falling pallet while working at a Regional Distribution Centre in Minchinbury in Western Sydney.

  
  

• Between January 29 and February 1, 2024, there were 5 fatalities in just 4 days in NSW, two of them involving incidents in warehouses.

  
  

• In May this year, a tradie, 29, was fatally injured by a falling object in a horror warehouse accident in Sydney’s west.

This disturbing statistic is a harsh reminder to employers about ensuring workplace safety. In addition, recent 2024 data from SafeWork NSW highlights that warehouse-related incidents now account for a significant and growing share of serious workplace injuries, surpassing many traditional manufacturing environments in both frequency and severity. This shift reinforces the need for renewed focus on safety practices specific to warehousing and logistics.

Recently in Victoria, a winery was fined $35,000 following an incident where a forklift collision crushed a worker’s leg. The incident happened in February 2024. A worker at the winery was cleaning a wheelbarrow when a forklift reversed into the worker and crushed his leg.

The Victorian regulator, WorkSafe Victoria attended the workplace and observed that:  

• There was no traffic management system in place in the receiving area.

  
  

• There were no warning signs, marked pedestrian walkways, marked loading/unloading zones, designated driver waiting area or signs to indicate a set speed limit.

The disturbing part of this incident is that the winery had previously received an improvement notice 12 years earlier and had developed a traffic management plan in response. However, by the time of the incident, the plan was no longer being implemented in the receiving area, and new workers were not being inducted into it.

The Court noted that the risk of harm was high as there was no segregation between workers and powered mobile plant in the area. The fact that the company had been issued an earlier improvement notice for the traffic management plan, no matter how long ago it was, was a factor that did not go well for the company.

Solutions

It is important that hazards and risks in warehouses are taken seriously and that, in addition to putting in control measures, staff are trained on these measures. Courtenell offers warehouse safety training and auditing which can be tailored to your specific arrangements. We can also help develop, update, or improve your traffic management plan.

For more information on WHS training or WHS compliance services, or if you would like help to make your WHS management system even more robust, please feel free to contact us by email at train@courtenell.com.au or phone us on 02 9552 2066