Analysis of Safety and Risk Management at Kenos Contractors, Canberra

This report examines the safety and risk management failures at Kenos Contractors in Canberra, following a fatal incident involving a truck driver. The report details the hazards present, including poor site accessibility, live power lines, and inadequate contractor management, which led to a $1.1 million fine for OHS breaches. It highlights how these breaches could have been avoided through adherence to OHS regulations, proper power line insulation, and the use of safety signs. The report concludes with recommendations for risk assessment and management to prevent future incidents, emphasizing the importance of training, safety mechanisms, and hazard identification. The findings underscore the critical need for organizations to prioritize safety standards to protect workers and avoid legal consequences, emphasizing the significance of proactive measures to mitigate risks and ensure a safe work environment. The report also provides a comprehensive overview of the incident, the actions taken by Safe Work, and strategies to prevent similar occurrences in the future, emphasizing the importance of a robust safety culture.

Running head: Safety and Risk Management at Kenos Contractors in Canberra 1
Safety and Risk Management at Kenoss Contractors in Canberra
Name
Institution

Safety and Risk Management at Kenoss Contractors in Canberra 2
Executive summary
The main aim of report was to identify hazards and risks that contributed to the death of a
driver at Kenos Contractors in Canberra. The company was fined$1.1 million for the breach of
occupation health and safety policies. The report found that Kenos Contractors in Canberra had
various hazards that resulted to risks including workplace serving as both a storage site for
materials and equipment and a dumping site, nature of activities nature involved in construction
works, lack of alignment of potential hazards with consideration of safety and health policies and
procedures, Poor inaccessibility of the site, low power lines at the access point, live power lines,
Inexistence of safety signs; safety signs, poor contractor management. Safety breaches could
have been avoided by Canberra Kenoss Contractors adhering to all Construction sites rules and
regulations as mandated by OHS including proper insulation of electric cables and power lines,
wearing of helmets and overalls and having safety signs and symbol in place. The report
concluded that it is important for an organization like by Canberra Kenoss Contractors to
conducts risk management and assessments after some time to avoid breaching of safety and
health policies in an organization.
Table of Contents

Safety and Risk Management at Kenoss Contractors in Canberra 3
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Background information of Safety and Risk Management at Kenos Contractors in Canberra.......3
Findings from Kenos Contractors in Canberra Case study.............................................................3
Workplace and Hazards...............................................................................................................3
Recommendation delivered from the findings................................................................................5
How safety breaches could have been avoided............................................................................5
What happened and how did Safe Work resolve the issue?........................................................6
What could have been done differently to prevent the occurrence of the incident?....................6
How would you address the issue if responsible for the safety systems?....................................7
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................8
Introduction
Risk management and safety standards are aspects of importance to a work environment
for prevention of injuries, loss, and even deaths. However, their implementation incurs costs of

Safety and Risk Management at Kenoss Contractors in Canberra 4
necessity that some organization tries to minimize to attain larger profits. Breaches of the safety
standards and risk management standards attract fines and criminal liability sentences as a form
of punishment by existing health and safety agencies (Bluff, 2014). It is both the duty of
organizations and statutory agencies within the respective countries to ensure safety standards
compliance.
Background information of Safety and Risk Management at Kenos Contractors in
Canberra
In Australia, Kenoss Contractors was found guilty of breaching safety standards in
relation to risk management standards (Occupation Health and Safety policies OHS) in 2012.
They were fined $ 1.1 million over truck driver’s death within their workplace as he was
fulfilling his duties (ABC News, 2015). The death occurs as a result of negligence of OHS safety
measures which were in place to curb the occurrence of any risk. Critical aspects of its
workplace were vulnerable to existing hazards, which the management ignored, resulting in
safety breaches that attracted fines.
Findings from Kenos Contractors in Canberra Case study
Workplace and Hazards
Hazards are potential aspects or elements that may result to risk in an organization or
workplace. Monitoring of Hazards in a workplace is essential in a workplace as it promotes
conducive environment which is adhered to policies and procedures of OHS. At the time of
incident occurrence, The Canberra Kenoss Contractors was conducting a road resurfacing project
in Australia. Its workplace served as both a storage site for materials and equipment and a
dumping site (Cooper Grace Ward, 2017). These increased activities within the Canberra Kenoss
Contractor’s workplace increased the risks of employees being exposed to various hazards that
were available in sites. Generally, the workplace had many hazards as a result of activities nature

Safety and Risk Management at Kenoss Contractors in Canberra 5
involved in construction works. The lack of alignment of potential hazards with consideration of
safety and health policies and procedures resulted in the menace of a truck driver's death. Poor
inaccessibility of the site was the major hazard in the context of The Canberra Kenoss
Contractors. The access point for entry into the site had low power lines making it difficult for a
car of high height to make its way through at ease. Also, the availability of live power lines. The
power lines within site were live, increasing the chances of electrification in the event of contact
with construction equipment and personnel. Inexistence of safety signs; safety signs are an
essential tool for communication within construction a site, especially about dangerous places or
activities (Health and safety in construction, 2016). They lacked within site thus creating room
for confusion and accidents. Another hazard is the existence of poor contractor management. The
workplace is poorly managed; for example, spotter personnel is lacking. Had he been in the site,
the truck driver would not have been electrocuted since the spotter would have helped in
maneuvering the existing power cables. Presence of such hazards laid the foundation for an
increase in the possible risks within the environment, an issue whose assumption by management
led to safety breaches. In summary, the hazards in the Canberra Kenoss Contractor’s included the
poor arrangement of sites, poor cabling of power lines and cables, poor contractor management
which does not emphasize so much on OHS procedures and policies and poor inaccessibility of
site where the driver was working.
Recommendation delivered from the findings
How safety breaches could have been avoided
Safety breaches are avoidable by addressing the existing hazards and risks within the
workplace. Conducting risk assessment and coming up with risk mitigation strategies helps to
identify potential hazards in the workplace, identify their likelihood, prioritize and treat risks in

Safety and Risk Management at Kenoss Contractors in Canberra 6
accordance with their priorities. The safety breaches could have been avoided by Canberra
Kenoss Contractors adherence to all Construction sites rules and regulations as mandated by
OHS. For example, the company could have avoided the risks by creating a better point of entry
into the site. The workplace point of entrance is poorly inaccessible due to the presence of live
wires hanging above it (Enhance Solutions, 2017). The power lines can be readjusted in terms of
height from the ground to avoid the probability of contact while assessing the site. Another way
of avoidance would be to turn off the power in the cables. Such an act would reduce risks of any
possibility of electrocution while on the site. Besides, safety signs can be put up. Safety signs
would enable better communication by informing workers and visitors of how to be safe while at
the workplace. For example, attaching the power lines with red flags symbolizing danger, thus
communicating the possibility of electrocution while in contact (Hinze, 2015). Also, better
contractor management can avoid safety breaches. Through it, safety systems and a safety
culture would be present within the workplace thus, reducing hazard occurrence and safety
breaches (HWANG & NG, 2015). Dealing with safety breaches would raise the safety levels for
all workers, visitors, and third parties within the workplace. In addition, the company could also
have given its employees the modern workplace garments. For example, reflectors for enhancing
visibility and helmets for minimizing the level of injuries if the risks occurred. The rules and
regulations could also have been printed in the risk register and pinned at the sites. The printing
of the risks could remind the victims of OHS safety rules and regulations that exist in the
workplace and steps or actions that are required immediately upon the risk occurrence.
What happened and how did Safe Work resolve the issue?
The Canberra Kenoss Contractors safety breach incident took place when Michael Booth,
a subcontractor, was electrocuted while in his fulfilment of duty to the company. Booth was in

Safety and Risk Management at Kenoss Contractors in Canberra 7
the process of delivering a load of materials to Canberra’s worksite (Enhance Solutions, 2017).
While at the point of entry, an electrocution incident occurred after his truck came into proximity
or contact with some hanging power cables. This lead to the creation of an electromagnetic field
of high magnitude to the extent of deflating the truck’s tires and leaving marks on the road.
Booth was thrown out of the truck, later on collapsing and dying on the spot (ABC News, 2015).
After the occurrence of the incident, the statutory agency Safe Work partnered with the industrial
court of Australia. For the investigation of safety breaches at the workplace and also for the
pursuance of justice for the victim’s family. Their combined effort led to a record fine of $ 1.1
million for breaches that led to the workers’ death (Cooper Grace Ward, 2017). The record fine
set a precedent as a warning to all companies within the country’s jurisdiction of safety within
their workplaces.
What could have been done differently to prevent the occurrence of the incident?
A lot could have been done differently to prevent the incident from occurring. They
include; Better monitoring by Safe Work. Safe Work’s primary goal is to improve work health
and safety for workers (Zou & Sunindijo, 2015). For the incident to have occurred, it illustrates
Safe Work’s incompetence on their duties since this is a preventable incident, had they
monitored the site earlier and more frequent. Another preventable mechanism would be the
installation of safety systems within the workplace (Li & Poon, 2017). Safety systems comprise
of safety culture, equipment, and personnel whose aim is setting safety standards in the
workplace. Kenoss Contractors, as proven by the industrial court, never took the above seriously,
thus creating a suitable ground for the occurrence of such incidents. For example, the courts
determined that the safety officer was the manager’s son and did not have skills and
qualifications required (Cooper Grace Ward, 2017). If the safety officer was qualified, all the

Safety and Risk Management at Kenoss Contractors in Canberra 8
existing hazards such as power lines would have appropriate safety mechanism set up to handle
them. Had the above necessities been observed probabilities of the above incident occurrence
could have been low or null.
How would you address the issue if responsible for the safety systems?
If responsible for the safety systems in this workplace; training of workers, setting up
safety mechanisms, identification of hazards, and their remedies would be techniques used in
addressing the incident. Training equips workers with knowledge about the existing hazards and
risks available in their work environments (Liang, 2017). It aids in building preparedness
amongst the workers in the event of the occurrence of safety posing scenarios. Training also
enables the workers to not pose risks to themselves and others while operating machinery within
a workplace. Setting up safety mechanisms would aid in the prevention of the occurrence of
identified hazards and risks (MacCollum, 2015). For example, in this incident, the hanging of
some red flags along the power lines can be a safety mechanism. Its goal would be to
communicate the possibility of electrocution from the cables due to the presence of power in
them. The identification of hazards and their remedies is done either internally or externally
(Safety and health in construction, 2016). An internal process involves internally auditing
possible hazards and listing them together with their solutions. An external method consists of
seeking services from risk management companies with the expertise to identify hazards that are
not easy to handle and prescribe their best remedies (Zhang & Fang, 2016). The company could
also do inspections of all risks that were required in an organization before the occurrence of
risks and provide effective mitigation strategies for the risks. The company could also involve an
OHS representative in its activities who can have traced down all hazards and treat them

Safety and Risk Management at Kenoss Contractors in Canberra 9
accordingly. Utilization of such tactics would aid in the maintenance of optimum safety levels
within the Kenoss workplace thus hindering any potential of risk occurrence.
Conclusion
In conclusion, there are various types of hazards that exist in an organization and if
employees are not keen about them they may end up resulting in a risk. In the contemporary
workplace setting, deaths, injuries, and loss of properties owing to workplace activities are things
that are avoidable if only appropriate safety measures are put in place and observed. It is the goal
of companies such as Canberra to set-up safety standards in their operations that will minimize
the chances of risk occurrence. The cost incurred in their fulfilment shouldn’t be a worry since
upon comparison with possible fines it is relatively low. On the other hand, regulatory agencies
such as health and safety departments like Safe Work have to function effectively to identify
risks within the company’s workplaces before their occurrence (Zhang, Teizer, Lee, Eastman &
Venugopal, 2013). Monitoring activities should make up their key operations to ensure that
organizations are keeping their workers, visitors, and third parties safe. Failure to which adequate
fines should be handed out as a way of setting a warning precedent within a country’s
jurisdiction.
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