WA firm Hofmann Engineering fined $567,000 after welder crushed to death in Bassendean, Perth

An engineering firm has been fined more than $500,000 after an employee was crushed to death by unmaintained machinery at a worksite in Perth’s northeast.

The welder, aged in his 40s, was killed when a 1350kg welding manipulator boom he was working under “fell suddenly” at Hofmann Engineering’s fabrication workshop in Bassendean.

The disaster, in May 2019, resulted in “fatal crush injuries”.

The worker was taken from the Alice St workshop to Royal Perth Hospital but could not be saved.

The company was charged with failing to provide a safe work environment and, by that failure, causing the employee’s death.

Hofmann Engineering pleaded guilty to the charge in Perth Magistrates Court on Monday and was fined $567,000 and ordered to pay $29,000 in costs.

The court was told there was no manufacturer’s manual or maintenance logbook kept for the 40-year-old machinery the worker was using when it failed.

Apart from pre-start visual checks looking at buttons and ensuring the machine went up and down and there was no unusual noises, “there was no other scheduled maintenance or inspections carried out or recorded by a qualified fitter”.

“The court agreed that the incident was caused by a lack of reasonably practicable safety measures,” WorkSafe WA said in a statement.

Service failures

“The court found that the machinery involved in his incident had not been adequately maintained and had also been sitting unused in storage for several years, exposing it to foreign materials such as dust,” WorkSafe Commissioner Sally North said.

“When independent experts inspected the welding manipulator, they confirmed the threads on the nuts involved in holding up the boom were worn to such an extent that they were unable to maintain the load placed on them.

“In addition, grease on the lead screw was grossly contaminated with foreign fine solid material to the point where it was having a negative effect on the screw.

“The tragic outcome of the company’s failure to implement safe work procedures should serve as a warning to all employers with heavy machinery at their workplaces to conduct regular inspections and maintenance in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions and take action to eliminate or minimise any risks to workers’ safety.”