Construction Work Safety: A Case Study of a Crane Operator in Melbourne Who Was Killed in a Fall

301061 Construction Work Safety 1
A CASE STUDY OF A CRANE OPERATOR IN MELBOURNE WHO WAS KILLED IN A FALL
ROOT CAUSE OF ACCIDENTS

301061 Construction Work Safety 2
Executive summary
This case study begins with explaining the types of accidents that occur in construction sites. The next topic
explains the case analysis by majoring on crane related accident that occurred in Melbourne in 2013. The case
describes a crane operator in Grocon's Emporium project who fell 35m high on 18th February and died. Followed
by an analysis on the incident was explored which culminated with proposed recommendations on safety workplace
procedures.
A literature review was conducted to give out an understanding of the different types of accidents that occur on site
with their level of risk and the root cause of accidents that occur during the operation of the crane which is related to
our case study. The report concludes with recommendations on safety measures that can be implemented to prevent
future deaths on construction sites.

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Table of contents
Executive summary......................................................................................................................................................2
Introduction..................................................................................................................................................................4
Case description............................................................................................................................................................4
Crane operator in Melbourne killed in a fall...............................................................................................................4
Literature review..........................................................................................................................................................5
Root causes of crane - related accidents on construction sites...................................................................................5
Risk levels depending on the Type of Crane..............................................................................................................5
Recommendation..........................................................................................................................................................8
Mitigation measures....................................................................................................................................................8
Consequences of accidents on site..............................................................................................................................8
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................................................9
References......................................................................................................................................................................9

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Introduction
The statistics in construction sites is alarming given the picture of Australian construction industry is considered as
one of the critical sectors that needs serious overhaul to salvage the situation from safety practices. It is a common
knowledge to everyone that accidents do not just happen, they are triggered by unsafe actions and condition or both.
In most cases, accidents happen as a result of combined actions that trigger the cause of events (Great Britain
Health and Safety Executive , 2017). Therefore, in order to save the construction industry and improve its
performance, it is prudent to carry out investigation on the root cause of accidents. The major causes of construction
site accidents are reported to be workers negligence, failure to follow work procedures, operating faulty machines,
crane related accidents, poor site management, low level of skills from workers, failure to use protective gears, poor
attitude of workers towards safety and harsh work operations (Australian broadcasting Corporation, 2016).
Most of the work accidents are majorly as a result of use of cranes compared to other movable machines used in a
construction industry. These accidents are common in Australia, Canada and United States. 10% of the total
casualties in the construction sector in United States are crane-related (Australian broadcasting Corporation,
2016). It is therefore important to investigate the root cause of such accidents in construction industry to prevent
more deaths in the future. The purpose of this research is to identify the root cause of accidents that happen in
construction sites that are crane related in the Australian construction industry with the aim of proposing mitigation
measures (Behm & Schneller, 2012). Our main focus will to explore the case study of Grocon's Emporium
Project located along Lonsdale Street in the CBD in Melbourne town.
Case description.
Crane operator in Melbourne killed in a fall
According to Safe Work Australia (2013), it elucidates that between 2003 and 2014, 382 laborers have lost their
lives on construction sites according to Safe Work Australia (2013), with 15% of fatalities coming from Australia
Construction Industry. A number of serious cases presented between 2006 and 2011 were 13,117.