Mandurah shop owner fined over fall

The owner-manager of the Meadow Springs Boulevarde Shopping Centre has been fined $25,000 over an incident in which a maintenance worker was injured when he fell off a ladder.

Primejade Holdings pleaded guilty to failing to provide and maintain a safe work environment for a contractor and was fined in the Perth Magistrates Court yesterday.

The maintenance worker broke his foot and wrist and tore a shoulder tendon when he fell four metres from the ladder while trying to put Christmas decorations in a false ceiling at the centre in January 2008.

WorkSafe WA Commissioner Nina Lyhne said the case highlighted the need for safe systems of work to be in place.

"Stable ladders with platforms on top are readily available, and they or an elevating work platform would have been more suitable for this type of activity than the flat ladder being used in this case," said Ms Lyhne.

"Centre management should have provided this contractor with equipment that minimised the risk of injury if he was being called upon to perform these work tasks," she said.

Ms Lyhne said falls are a significant cause of workplace deaths in WA.

"Eleven Western Australian workers have died over the past three years as a result of falls," she said.

"A further 1295 are injured each year, many seriously and permanently."

See WorkSafe statement below:

A company that owns and manages a Mandurah shopping centre has been fined $25,000 over an incident in which a maintenance worker was injured in a fall from a ladder.

Primejade Holdings Pty Ltd - owners and managers of the Meadow Springs Boulevarde Shopping Centre - pleaded guilty to failing to provide and maintain a safe work environment for a contractor and was fined in the Perth Magistrates Court yesterday.

In January 2008, a contractor who provided maintenance and gardening services at the shopping centre was engaged in placing bags of Christmas decorations inside the false ceiling of one of the retail stores.

This involved placing a ladder against the wall of the store, picking up the bags and walking up the ladder like a stairway to place the bags on top of the false ceiling.

At around 7.35am, the worker picked up two bags in one hand and walked up the ladder. When he reached a point about three rungs from the top, the base of the ladder slipped, causing him to fall to the floor, a distance of almost four metres.

He sustained fractures to his right heel and left wrist and a torn shoulder tendon.

WorkSafe WA Commissioner Nina Lyhne said today the case highlighted the need for safe systems of work to be in place.

"This unfortunate incident demonstrates the importance of both having safe work systems in place and using the appropriate equipment for each work task," Ms Lyhne said.

"Stable ladders with platforms on top are readily available, and they or an elevating work platform would have been more suitable for this type of activity than the flat ladder being used in this case.

"Centre management should have provided this contractor with equipment that minimised the risk of injury if he was being called upon to perform these work tasks.

"Falls are a significant cause of workplace death in WA, and 11 Western Australian workers have died over the past three years as a result of falls. A further 1295 are injured each year, many seriously and permanently.

"A code of practice on fall prevention has existed in WA for almost 20 years, with the original code being issued in response to the number of fatalities being recorded in the construction industry at that time.

"The current code is comprehensive - providing information on the identification of common fall hazards and the correct use of appropriate ladders and fall arrest equipment.

"I urge all employers with workplaces that may contain fall hazards to ensure copies of the code are readily available at their workplaces."