Fall from heights (5 February 2019)
Incident date
5 February 2019
Event
Fall from heights landing on reinforcing bar
Location
Gosford
Incident Overview
A 32 year old male worker was doing formwork at a multi-storey construction site in Gosford and fell approximately 2.8 metres. He landed on a reinforcing bar and his leg was impaled.
The site
The site is located at Gosford. Work being done at the site includes formwork for a multi-storey residential construction.
The investigation
- SafeWork NSW Inspectors responded to the incident.
- SafeWork NSW has commenced an investigation to determine the cause and circumstances of the incident.
Our Prosecution Guidelines (January 2018) outline our approach to prosecutions and Safe Work Australia’s National Compliance and Enforcement Policy provides guidance on their approach
to compliance. These documents set out factors that will be considered in determining the investigative approach and appropriate outcome.
Safety Information
Businesses are reminded of their duty to identify hazards and manage risks to health and safety in line with the provisions of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 and Work Health and Safety Regulation 2017 .
Each year SafeWork NSW responds to incidents where workers have been injured as a result of falls from heights. Most of these incidents involve open penetrations on formwork decks and unprotected edges/voids.
Workers in the construction industry are most commonly injured; however any worker working at heights is at risk.
Businesses are reminded to consider reasonably practicable control measures to manage the risk of falls from heights by ensuring open penetrations are covered and covers are secured.
Further information
Please refer to the following guidance materials:
- Managing the risk of falls at workplaces COP
- Construction work COP
- Formwork COP
- SafeWork Pocket Guide to Construction Safety
- Safework Australia Formwork Guide
About this information release
We have issued this information to draw attention to the occurrence of a fatality/serious injury/serious incident in the construction industry. Investigations are ongoing and further information may be published as it becomes available.
The information contained in this publication is based on knowledge and understanding at the time of writing. Users are reminded of the need to ensure any information upon which they rely is up to date and to check the currency of the information with the appropriate SafeWork NSW officer or the user’s
independent adviser. No conclusions should be drawn from the information in this publication about the cause of the incident or the culpability of any party.
All photographs were taken by SafeWork NSW.
The site
The site is located at Gosford. Work being done at the site includes formwork for a multi-storey residential construction.
The investigation
- SafeWork NSW Inspectors responded to the incident.
- SafeWork NSW has commenced an investigation to determine the cause and circumstances of the incident.
Our Prosecution Guidelines (January 2018) outline our approach to prosecutions and Safe Work Australia’s National Compliance and Enforcement Policy provides guidance on their approach to compliance. These documents set out factors that will be considered in determining the investigative approach and appropriate outcome.
Safety Information
Businesses are reminded of their duty to identify hazards and manage risks to health and safety in line with the provisions of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 and Work Health and Safety Regulation 2017 .
Each year SafeWork NSW responds to incidents where workers have been injured as a result of falls from heights. Most of these incidents involve open penetrations on formwork decks and unprotected edges/voids.
Workers in the construction industry are most commonly injured; however any worker working at heights is at risk.
Businesses are reminded to consider reasonably practicable control measures to manage the risk of falls from heights by ensuring open penetrations are covered and covers are secured.
Further information
Please refer to the following guidance materials:
- Managing the risk of falls at workplaces COP
- Construction work COP
- Formwork COP
- SafeWork Pocket Guide to Construction Safety
- Safework Australia Formwork Guide
About this information release
We have issued this information to draw attention to the occurrence of a fatality/serious injury/serious incident in the construction industry. Investigations are ongoing and further information may be published as it becomes available.
The information contained in this publication is based on knowledge and understanding at the time of writing. Users are reminded of the need to ensure any information upon which they rely is up to date and to check the currency of the information with the appropriate SafeWork NSW officer or the user’s independent adviser. No conclusions should be drawn from the information in this publication about the cause of the incident or the culpability of any party.
All photographs were taken by SafeWork NSW.