WorkSafe is urging forklift users to review safety practices after a company was convicted and fined AUD10,000 (USD7,783) for not maintaining a safe working environment.
A safety inspector saw a Bonney Produce Pty Ltd employee scrape paint from the façade of the company building while working from a personnel cage resting on wooden pallets tied to a forklift's mast and tynes.
No one was in the forklift operator's seat.
WorkSafe's transport & storage division director Ross Pilkington said he was disappointed prosecution action was necessary after years of campaigning to improve forklift safety.
"Forklifts are among the most common machines in Victorian workplaces. They also account for a considerable number of deaths and serious injuries each year.
"Around 12 per cent of deaths arising from forklift use are a result of people working from makeshift platforms or working on the tynes while they're raised," he said.
In the Bonney Produce case, no one was injured but the worker could have been killed or injured had the pallets and cage fallen with the worker on board, WorkSafe said in a statement.
WorkSafe Victoria has produced an information pack to prevent forklift accidents. Email
publications@workcover.vic.gov.au to get a free pack. Other material on safety topics can be downloaded at
www.workcover.vic.gov.au.
WorkSafe is a state-government safety entity in Victoria, Australia.