Crash after cleaner used crane to lift 30 tonne steel frame while working on Spirit of Tasmania project
A have-a-go cleaner thought he could fill in for a sick crane operator to hoist a 30-tonne frame for a Spirit of Tasmania project. Here’s what happened.
Victoria
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A Geelong engineering firm working on steel frames for the Spirit of Tasmania will have to cough up nearly $170,000 after a trades assistant whose main role was cleaning tried to fill the shoes of an experienced crane operator who was off work sick, to hoist a 30 tonne frame and it fell against a wall, with four people nearby.
The accident happened about 11pm on August 4, 2022, when there was no Thornton Engineering supervisor on duty and no suitably qualified crane operators available, a WorkSafe summary reveals.
There were also no drawings, written plans or documented procedures for undertaking the heavy and complicated lift, and the company did not immediately notify WorkSafe of the accident or preserve the site afterwards, it says.
“The employee used two 16 tonne cranes, which were not synchronised, to lift and rotate the 30 tonne frame, 180 degrees. He used different points to lift the frame than had been used the night before.
“As a result the initial lift failed, whereby the frame was hoisted and lost balance,” WorkSafe said in a summary of recent prosecution results and enforceable undertakings released this week.
“The centre of gravity tipped causing the crane hoists to be dragged into the workshop gantries, damaging the crane and gantries in the process.
“The toppled frame came to rest on the wall of the workplace.
“In an attempt to remedy this, the employee removed the one 16 tonne crane and replaced it with two 10 tonne cranes, thereby using three cranes to remedy the fallen steel (one 16 tonne crane and two 10 tonne cranes).
“The 30 tonne load exceeded the maximum rating of the 10 tonne cranes, causing them to ‘trip out’ at the control box.
“At the time of the incident there were at least four employees in the vicinity and therefore placed at risk.”
The worker was employed as a cleaner WorkSafe initially stated in its summary, and had some experience moving smaller objects with cranes but did not hold the required intermediate or advanced rigging licence to perform the major lift.
The Herald Sun understands the worker was actually a trades assistant, whose job largely involved cleaning such as sweeping, shovelling and picking up mess.
And while the worker had been given a verbal briefing about the job, it was not from the supervisor — who had also called in sick.
Thornton Engineering, which is based in Corio, was charged with four offences, however, the firm agreed to a WorkSafe enforceable undertaking (EU) on May 31 this year.
That EU involved five undertakings over the course of 18 months, at an estimated total cost of $168,900, WorkSafe said.
Thornton Engineering Australia provided design and fabrication of structural steel, pressure vessels, heat exchanges and ply and piling steel products for major products across Australia, it said.
“At the relevant time, Thornton was contracted to work on steel frames for the Spirit of Tasmania.”
It is not made clear what part of the Spirit of Tasmania project the frame was for, however, the EU reveals the incident occurred in a work shed.
The EU also states Thornton regrets what occurred and has agreed to developing better training and worksite guidelines for employees.
On its website, Thornton spruiks a project it was involved in over July and August “to facilitate the Spirit of Tasmania coming to Geelong”, saying columns, loading ramps, link spans and other material were “en route to Geelong Port”.
“Projects of this scale always come with challenges and through teamwork and planning we were able to successfully deliver all the requirements to assist in bring the Spirit of Tasmania to Geelong,” the Thornton website says.
Thornton has been approached for comment.
On October 10, 2022 Geelong Port Said on its website: “A key element of the world-first, three-level access ramp at Spirit of Tasmania Quay has been completed by local Geelong supplier Thornton Engineering Australia. Built specifically to accommodate Spirit of Tasmania’s current and new, larger ships (arriving in 2024), this complex steel structure will provide streamlined access for cars, caravans and trucks.”
Chief Executive Officer Brett Winter said at the time Geelong Port was excited to reach the milestone using local suppliers.
“Successful construction of the steel gantry and link spans brings us another step closer to completion,” he said.
“The fact that this complex structure was built right here in Geelong really demonstrates the strength and importance of local manufacturing.
“The gantry legs, triangulated truss, deck platforms and link spans were fabricated in Corio using 510 tonnes of steel … complex in design, connections and welding difficulty, it is the largest pipe frame built by local company Thornton Engineering Australia.
“As various elements of this amazing structure were put in place over the course of July, August and September, Geelong Port was supported by Powercor, and other key project partners, to ensure the over-dimensional loads could be transported from Corio to North Geelong over five winter nights in August 2022.”
The Spirit of Tasmania moved its Victorian base to Geelong from Melbourne’s Station Pier
in October 2022.
It’s understood Spirit of Tasmania was not aware of the Thornton crane incident.
Bigger Spirit ships are coming soon, with more cabins and exciting new pet travel methods.
There are also plans to increase freight on the vessels.
A spokesman for the Spirit of Tasmania said passenger numbers had been strong since the move to Geelong.
“The move to Geelong has been a great success for the company with a record number of passengers, 450,012, sailing during the 2022-23 financial year,” he said.
“During the same financial year, Spirit of Tasmania transported more than 213,766 passenger vehicles and 106,578 TEUs (freight).
“This compares favourably to 2018/19 when 446,889 passengers travelled with the company.
“Freight carried by the company is expected to increase with the arrival of the new Spirit of Tasmania vessels. While a similar design to the current ships, they are larger.”
Passenger capacity would rise from 1400 to 1800 and the number of cabins would increase from 222 to 301, he said.
The number of lane metres for passenger and freight vehicles on board the ships would also increase by almost 60 per cent.
“The process of travelling with pets … is set to change on the new vessels,” he said.
“The company will release details of this when finalised in the coming weeks.”
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