Mitcham construction fatality

12 November 2007

A man died at Mitcham at the weekend after being struck by a steel support prop which fell as it was being removed from a concrete panel.

WorkSafe believes the eight-metre prop hit the ground and bounced, hitting the 42-year-old Dandenong man.

The incident happened at a Whitehorse Road construction site around 1.30pm on Saturday.

This followed a man being seriously injured at East Melbourne on 16 October when he was struck by a prop that fell from a truck while it was being loaded.

WorkSafe’s Executive Director, John Merritt, said the fatality was the 21st this year and the seventh in the construction industry.

Following eight deaths in November and December last year, WorkSafe recently appealed to the Victorian community to further increase vigilance concerning workplace safety.

“The alarming thing is that the causes of fatalities and serious injuries are known; so are the solutions. What needs to happen is for people to consistently apply safe work practices and not so much on their skill and experience.”

“Over the past decade there has been a regular spike in fatalities in November and December.

“The fact that it happens almost every year suggests people are concentrating less on what they are doing and not taking the precautions they normally would.

“Many businesses become busier than normal because they are preparing for a lengthy shut-down, while warehouses, road transport and retail are gearing up.

“Now is not the time to allow short cuts to be taken or for the demands of ‘getting the job done’ to take precedence over safety,” Mr Merritt said.