Central Highlands Regional Council gets Enforceable Undertaking for Trench Collapse - OHSA Occupational Health Services Australia

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Central Highlands Regional Council gets Enforceable Undertaking for Trench Collapse

14/11/2018 By Simon Phillips

Obligation holder:	Central Highlands Regional Council (CHRC)
Date accepted:	22 January 2018
Incident:	On 3 December 2014, workers employed by a sub-contractor engaged by Central Highlands Regional Council (CHRC) were operating an excavator to dig a trench for the installation of sewer pipes. The injured worker was requested to pass a tool from a worker inside the trench to the excavator operator. As the worker was approaching the excavator and trench, the side of the trench collapsed trapping the worker. As a result, the worker sustained multiple injuries.
Alleged breach:	It was alleged that CHRC failed to comply with sections 300(1) and 300(2) of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011.
Summary of undertaking: In the event of an alleged contravention of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (WHS Act), the regulator may, as an alternative to prosecution, accept an enforceable undertaking (EU) given by the person who is alleged to have committed the contravention. An accepted EU aims to deliver tangible work health and safety benefits to workers and the workplace, industry and the community, which may not have been delivered if the matter were prosecuted. An undertaking given by CHRC in relation to the above alleged contravention has been accepted by the regulator as an EU under Part 11 of the WHS Act and includes: acknowledgment and clear statement of the facts and circumstances surrounding the alleged contravention third party audits of their occupational health and safety management system (OHSMS) engaging a: registered training organisation to develop and deliver a safety leadership program risk consultant to review and improve current risk management practices safety contractor to validate rectification undertaken and review, develop and improve contractor management processes (CMP) sharing lessons learnt from the improvement of CMP with other Councils, the regulator and through Local Government industry forums developing and implementing safety management software for the OHSMS including the provision of hardware, data services and training to relevant workers purchasing temporary safety fencing for emergency barricading and three emergency response trailers training 25 staff in Certificate IV Workplace Health and Safety delivering six presentations on spinal injury prevention to industry groups across the CHRC region sponsoring two agricultural scholarships through the Queensland Agricultural Training College. donating funds to local Men’s Shed Association for the provision of tools, materials and personal protective equipment supplying and installing five defibrillators in the local community. This undertaking has a total minimum expenditure of $410,103 (including recoverable departmental costs). An enforceable undertaking may be withdrawn or varied where compliance with the undertaking is subsequently found to be impractical, or where there has been a material change in the circumstances. View/download the enforceable undertaking and Regulator’s reasons for decision(PDF, 5311.24 KB) – 22 January 2018 Click here for a list of Enforceable Undertakings Listed on WorkSafe Qld Website https://www.worksafe.qld.gov.au/laws-and-compliance/compliance-and-enforcement/enforceable-undertakings/enforceable-undertakings-list

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