Timbertruss Geelong owner enters $275k enforceable undertaking after forklift fail

A company has paid a high price after a forklift overturned in Corio – despite no one being injured in the incident. Find out why.

The enforceable undertaking.

A worker may have escaped without injury after a forklift overturned in Corio, but his employer must cough up more than $275,000 to improve safety.

Timber and building supplies company Bowen & Pomeroy Pty Ltd appeared in the Geelong Magistrates Court on January 15, facing three charges of failing to provide a safe workplace following the April 2022 incident.

The charges were put on hold after the company agreed to enter into an enforceable undertaking with WorkSafe.

The incident happened at Timbertruss Geelong, a division of Bowen & Pomeroy, located on O’Briens Rd in Corio.

A worker was trying to empty a large dumpster using a forklift with a rotating tyne attachment, which was not capable of doing the task.

Another worker told him the dumpster was not normally emptied in that way, but tried to help.

When the dumpster began to slip off the forks, a second forklift was brought in alongside to assist.

While trying to lift the dumpster again, the forklift with the rotating attachment tipped to one side and landed on the other parked forklift.

The driver was wearing a seatbelt and was uninjured.

WorkSafe alleges it was reasonably practicable for Bowen & Pomeroy to provide a safe system of work, necessary instruction and training and adequate supervision regarding the use of the forklift with the rotating tyne attachment.

WorkSafe executive director of health and safety Sam Jenkin said the incident could have had disastrous consequences.

“No worker should be left without the safe systems of work, training and supervision in place to do their jobs safely,” Mr Jenkin said.

“My hope now is that these planned upgrades and education initiatives will go a long way to improving safety in this workplace and the wider industry.”

The enforceable undertaking is estimated to cost the company $275,824, including a $10,000 donation to the Australian Institute of Health & Safety’s body of knowledge program.

Timbertruss Geelong on O'Briens Rd, Corio. Picture: Google Maps

As part of the agreement, the company must upgrade its fleet of forklifts to include some with pedestrian sensing systems and technology to regulate access to forklifts via personal codes and lockout systems.

The company must host a demonstration session to local businesses on the technology and “publish an article in an industry magazine”, WorkSafe said.

It must also deliver presentations to students at Chilsholm TAFE about the circumstances of the incident, practical approaches to developing and maintaining safe work methods and how it improved its systems and forklift technology after the incident.

The safety improvements agreed to go beyond forklifts: the company must develop educational material about overhead powerlines and the importance of no-go zones for the frame and truss industry, including a video to be shared with the industry association and presented at industry safety sessions and an innovation expo.

Bowen & Pomeroy has also been ordered to partner with the ManuFutures program and Institute for Intelligent Systems Research and Innovations (IISRI), both part of Deakin University, to conduct a feasibility study on the use of a technology-based system that can prevent nail gun injuries.

WorkSafe may reinstate the charges if the undertaking is contravened or withdrawn.

Originally published as Timbertruss Geelong owner enters $275k enforceable undertaking after forklift fail