Analyzing Safety Breach: Canberra Construction Company Case Study

This essay provides a comprehensive analysis of the safety breach at Canberra Construction Company, where a truck driver was electrocuted due to low-slung power lines, leading to a substantial fine for the company. The essay identifies various workplace health and safety issues, including working at heights, poor housekeeping, electrical hazards, chemical handling, and confined spaces. It delves into Australian work health and safety laws and legislation, particularly the Safe Work Australia Act 2008 and the WHS Act model, emphasizing the responsibilities of employers and employees in maintaining a safe working environment. The harmonizing of WHS laws and procedures for resolving work health issues are also discussed. The essay recommends preventive measures such as planning, workplace inspection, employee training, regular interaction, and record maintenance to mitigate hazards and ensure workplace safety. The document is contributed by a student and available on Desklib, a platform offering study tools and resources for students.

Running head: SAFETY AND RISK MANAGEMENT
SAFETY AND RISK MANAGEMENT
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1SAFETY AND RISK MANAGEMENT
Introduction
Health and safety are one of the most essential aspects of workplace culture. All the
companies need to implement the process so that employees have enough faith over the
company and a good relation maintained throughout. This ensures role plat of everyone. The
management also focuses on managing the risk factors. The responsibilities are clear from the
management and they have a clear vision to protect their employees from the undesired
workplace incidents. The risks can be managed by the accumulation of four processes (Lao et
al., 2016). Planning is the first part of that process where management has to identify the risk
and then do the necessary steps to eliminate the risk. Thus, this is the second step of the
process. The third step is the checking and states the measured monitoring need to be done
from the management perspective. The last process is the implementation of the act, where
review for continuous improvement sustains.
The thesis statement of the essay is to identify risk management laws and legislation
have taken by the government and their effective implementations or non-implementation
consequences. Companies are suffering a huge loss in case of non-implementation cases.
Canberra Construction Company was faced such situations and the entire essay highlights the
doable things that company make take earlier to get rid of this menace.
Overview of the incident
Canberra Construction Company has been fined $1.1 million as one of their
employees Michael Booth, 48 years old truck driver, electrocuted by the low-slung power
lines on the work site of the Canberra Company Kenoss Contractors. The company was
declared as the guilty by the ACT work safe Commission (Abc.net.au, 2015). The industrial
magistrate Lorraine Walker had not found any such remorse about the death of their
employee. The man is also appointed for the safety officer of the company but the person has

2SAFETY AND RISK MANAGEMENT
poor corporate culture and that is the reason a general manager has taken the place. The
company got a strong warning for that reason and the directors are criminally liable under the
new law. A massive fine was considered to the company and this is the biggest one in the
country. The health and safety of employees is the major concern for the organisation, and
ACT work safe Commissioner Mark McCabe highlighted the fact of the criminal offence by
the company and it could be patently avoidable (Abc.net.au, 2015). This was the most serious
accident and a remarkable action needed to be taken from the administration so that company
got a confrontation in an aspect of monetary loss.
Health and safety issues in the workplace
There are lots of safety issues that can be measured by the administration so that bitter
consequences will not face for employees as well as for the company.
Working at height is one of such situations that most of the employee needs extra
shield so that fall protection, in any case, can be avoidable. There are some trained employees
those are appointed for the particular processes and they have idea and experience to deal
with the situation, but the protection and safety measures are taken for the undesired incidents
(Lee, Heath & Gad, 2016). The second aspect is poor housekeeping and this is important for
the clutter and garbage cleaning. Sometimes these litters create some unwanted situation and
employees may hurt for that (Bahn & Barratt-Pugh, 2012). The next safety process is the
electrical process, this is the process for which Canberra Construction Company got a threat
so effective line connection, supping power, voltage and even the placement of the wire is
also important. Sometimes, there are some earth-in problems and due to voltage abruption the
wire becomes body current and if the wire touched by anyone, there is a chance of shock
(Lee, Heath & Gad, 2016). It needs safety measures of daily check-up and operation
department will find the process. Chemical accumulation in any test needs to be handled with

3SAFETY AND RISK MANAGEMENT
care. In case of chemical laboratories and medicine making process controlling of chemical is
the most important thing in amalgamation. Trained employees are taken in that case so that
they have the experience to control the process. Confined spaces are suffocating in some time
and employees have some breathing problem in such hazardous conditions. The places where
employees are trying to consolidate the work have some breathing space for them. The safety
measures of allowing window or make some extra space for entrance will help the process.
Law and legislation of safe work at Australia
There are lots of responsibilities come for the employees to handle their life with care,
this is not only a duty to administration but also an awareness that needs to be created in the
employees for their working sustainability. They need to follow instruction and also ask their
seniors about the safety platforms (Heath, Gad & Connah, 2013). Employees need to use
personal protective equipment with them and they need to take training and being instructed
to use them. Unsafe places or the situations are handled with the help of supervisors' advice.
They need to work on a group at that time and health and safety representatives will be there
for the sustainable condition of employees' life (Safeworkaustralia.gov.au, 2018).
There are few changes that Safe Work Australia Act 2008 had made and these
amendments are quite important for the development of rules in safety processes in the
workplace. The changes like occupational health were omitted and replaced by the work
health improvements and this was quite relevant in 2008 as the incident of Canberra
Construction Company in 2012, faced a lot of trouble because of the change in rules and their
amendments. In section 3, OHS legislation for the commonwealth health care process in
states and territories are omitted and substituted by the WHS legislative framework of the
evaluation model (Safeworkaustralia.gov.au, 2018). This is an over the sighting of the
process for state and territories (Heath et al., 2016). Repeal some section in Section 4 like

4SAFETY AND RISK MANAGEMENT
OHS compliance and enforcement policy, OHS codes of practice, the definition of the
Ministerial Council and others. These are amended under the WHS Model legislative
framework. All these processes are under this legislation. The implementation and practice of
this process need to maintain by the company. Government improves the evaluating policy
and also using their investment or purchasing power to ensure the process. Small business
companies also make some safety complaints about their employees and that consider a
workplace protection for them. The model of health care safety acts is initiated by the
government for this reason.
WHS Act model
In the WHS model Act, most of the jurisdiction process was set through this. The Act
protects employees and eliminate their life risk, the hence constructive role of their job and
ensure the productivity of the company is the key aspect in that case. The aspects of the
model are
The protection from risk and minimise that for employees to work in a good condition
and have that opportunity to delivering the duty they are appointed for. The fair and effective
representation, co-operation and constructive process help the entire process of health and
safety. WHS practices need to be promoted, and unions and employers organisations have to
take their step forward for that reason (Soltani & Sandall, 2012). In case of WHS,
information, education, training and advice are the main aspects of knowing and make
awareness of the safety procedure, which is one of the most important legislation and
responsibility deliver by the company. Canberra Construction Company had that provision in
a leisure format and safety manager has not taken the process in a serious manner. Michael
Booth was the victim of that process and investigation officers made this process guilty and
take the step against Canberra Construction (Safeworkaustralia.gov.au, 2018). The health and

5SAFETY AND RISK MANAGEMENT
safety duty of an officer under section 27 was imposed for biased, intimidating and
misleading conduct against an employee. The licence of specific activities is needed for that
reason to proving the change in regulation and their implementation process (Farre et al.,
2017). WHS regulator process approves the particular jurisdiction in some cases that
associated with risk mitigation and there are particular codes for practising the process.
Harmonising WHS Laws
The objectives of harmonising WHS laws are protecting the health and safety of the
workers. Improve the safety outcomes and appliances for the workplace. The workplace
culture needs to be a formative and technological advancement in the workplace, will help
employees to ensure their free-flowing work engagement in the workplace. Reduce
agreement cost for the business is considered as another objective of the process. The cost
can be controlled if employees get a better facility in the workplace and they need not take
extra leaves due to their workplace injuries (Safework.nsw.gov.au, 2018). Thus, production
hamper will not face by the organisation and no such extra payment will be provided for
employees' injuries. The last objective deals with advance competence for regulatory
agencies. The process of regulatory process was established through the agreement of
operational reform and health and safety act in July 2008 (Safeworkaustralia.gov.au, 2018).
These underpinning process helps in seamless national economy and also help in the probable
framework of that process which helps in reformation of employees’ safety and workplace
management.
Work health issue resolution
There is some agreed procedure in that case and that procedure helps in workplace
safety. The procedures are aligned with the regulations set by the government and companies
has to set that process in a formative way. There is some resolving approach that companies

6SAFETY AND RISK MANAGEMENT
can take for the development of the organisation. The manager will contribute individually in
the tenacity of the matter or propose a management representative and that was initiated by
the OHS Committee in 2004, section 73 (Business.gov.au, 2018). The name and position of
the employee will be known to the management and that documentation is important from
their perspective to understand the employee is working at the organisation. Employee and
management gap create this space of unknowing attire. The issue of leaving a workplace is
not the solution, rather force implementation by employees in a workplace is considered as
the suitable option where basic resolution process can be started through the process
(Worksafe.nt.gov.au, 2015). External and internal workplace infrastructure and part of the
skill and development aspect of employees are also liable for that reason. The process of
safety maintenance by technological equipment develops through the process and that is the
reason easy safety process need to understand by employees.
Recommended preventions
The recommended processes are declaring about some of the effective process, which
is committed to the mitigation of hazards situation. Planning is one of the most important,
rather the first approach to workplace safety. Inspection of the workplace is another
recommended process to control over the hazards. There must be a storage area, where this
garbage is dumped in and make sure no chemical combustibility will be there. Train
employees is another best process for working safely in the organisation. The training
platform needs some good trainer who provides tough challenges to overcome in a demo
situation. With the proper safety, if employees did the work, then it will be worthy for the
organisation to have such employees in the organisation. Regular interaction with employees
will make a bonding with management and employees, the gap mitigates and managers easily
understand the problem faced by the employees and investigate the incident so that it will not
turn into an accident. Record maintaining and safe the core part of the business will help to

7SAFETY AND RISK MANAGEMENT
ensure the continuity of the process in case of the undesired situation also. Employees can
interact with HR expert at any time in the workplace, as they are liable for doing work for
employees' sustainability even of the lifesaving process.
Conclusion
Therefore it can be concluded that workplace health and safety process need to be
implemented in a proper way and inspection for that process is also important and that
mitigate the undesired situation like Canberra Construction Company. Acts provide a general
indication to create workplaces safe and healthy. They plan authorized accountabilities and
responsibilities as a manager and business proprietor. The regulatory legislation is imposed
by the government over the organisation, but the process needs to be trained and controlled
by the employees and management authority respectively.

8SAFETY AND RISK MANAGEMENT
References
Abc.net.au (2015) Canberra Construction Company fined $1.1 million over death of truck
driver retrieved from: www.abc.net.au/news/2015-08-19/construction-company-
fined-1-million-over-workplace-death/6708032 [Accessed on 3rd October, 2018]
Bahn, S., & Barratt-Pugh, L. (2012). Emerging issues of Health and Safety training delivery
in Australia: Quality and transferability. Procedia-Social and Behavioral
Sciences, 62, 213-222.
Business.gov.au (2018) WHS/OH&S acts, regulations and codes of practice
Farre, A., Shaw, K., Heath, G., & Cummins, C. (2017). On doing ‘risk work’in the context of
successful outcomes: Exploring how medication safety is brought into action through
health professionals’ everyday working practices. Health, Risk & Society, 19(3-4),
209-225.
Heath, D. J., Gad, E. F., & Connah, G. (2013). Guidelines for Prequalification and Design of
Post-Installed and Cast-In Anchors in Australia. Proceedings of Concrete, 16-18.
Heath, D. J., Tsang, H. H., Lee, J., & Gad, E. F. (2016). Seismic design provisions for
fastenings to concrete in Australia. In Australasian Structural Engineering
Conference: ASEC 2016 (p. 56). Engineers Australia.
Lao, J., Hansen, A., Nitschke, M., Hanson-Easey, S., & Pisaniello, D. (2016). Working smart:
An exploration of council workers’ experiences and perceptions of heat in Adelaide,
South Australia. Safety science, 82, 228-235.
Lee, J., Heath, D. J., & Gad, E. F. (2016). Best practice specification, design and installation
for post-installed anchors in safety-critical applications. In Australasian Structural
Engineering Conference: ASEC 2016 (p. 186). Engineers Australia.

9SAFETY AND RISK MANAGEMENT
Lee, J., Heath, D. J., & Gad, E. F. (2016). Best practice specification, design and installation
for post-installed anchors in safety-critical applications. In Australasian Structural
Engineering Conference: ASEC 2016 (p. 186). Engineers Australia.
Retrieved from: https://www.business.gov.au/risk-management/health-and-safety/whs-oh-
and-s-acts-regulations-and-codes-of-practice [Accessed on 4th October, 2018]
Safework.nsw.gov.au (2018) Workers Obligations retrieved from:
https://www.safework.nsw.gov.au/legal-obligations/worker-obligations [Accessed on
4th October, 2018]
Safeworkaustralia.gov.au (2018) Law and Legislation retrieved from:
https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/law-and-regulation [Accessed on 5th October,
2018]
Soltani, H., & Sandall, J. (2012). Organisation of maternity care and choices of mode of
birth: a worldwide view. Midwifery, 28(2), 146-149.
Worksafe.nt.gov.au (2015) Information for workers retrieved from:
http://www.worksafe.nt.gov.au/WorkersCompensation/InformationForWorkers/
Pages/default.aspx [Accessed on 5th October, 2018]