Hofmann Engineering Pty Ltd fined $567,000 more than five years after employee crushed at work

A Bassendean-based engineering company has been fined $567,000 more than five years after one of its workers was crushed under heavy welding machinery weighing more than one tonne. The man, in his 40s, had been working as a welder at Hofmann Engineering Pty Ltd’s fabrication workshop under the boom of a 1350kg welding manipulator in May 2019, when the boom collapsed on him. He suffered fatal crush injuries and was rushed to Royal Perth Hospital but could not be saved. On Monday, the court found the worker’s death was caused by a “lack of reasonably practicable safety measures”. Independent experts confirmed the threads on the nuts — which were holding up the boom — were worn out so badly, they were “unable to maintain the load placed on them”. WorkSafe commissioner Sally North also said the machine had been sitting used in storage for years, exposing it to dust and grease. “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,” she said. The court was told the company had not kept a manufacturer’s manual or maintenance logbook for the 40-year-old welding machine. Instead, the company only made “visual pre-operation checks” like making sure the machine moved up and down that it did not make any noise. There were also no recordings of scheduled maintenance or inspections carried out by a qualified fitter. “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 worker’s safety,” Ms North said. Hofmann Engineering has provided specialist engineered parts and services to the mining, defence, transport and energy industries since 1969.