A building supplier has been fined $450,000 for insufficient safety systems after one of their employees was crushed to death by falling stone slabs.
Anton Bauer, 56, was working at Avant Stone’s warehouse in Beresfield, Newcastle, on August 20, 2022, when he was crushed beneath two stone slabs, each weighing 315kg, after they fell from an A-frame storage system.
The District Court of NSW fined the company $450,000 on October 30 for failing to comply with its safety duty under the state’s Work Health and Safety Act 2011.
‘Avant Stone should have known of the risk of slabs falling,’ SafeWork NSW said.
‘The risk was clearly present when unrestrained stone slabs were stored on A-frames, without any means of restraining them if they tipped over.
‘The potential consequences of the risk were death or serious injury. Each stone slab weighed 315kg.’
At about 9am, Mr Bauer commenced working, while his colleague, a sales representative, started work in the warehouse showroom.
Throughout the morning, the sales representative met with clients and instructed Mr Bauer to move stone slabs between the A-frames to help clients make their selections.
Anton Bauer, 56, was working at Avant Stone’s warehouse in Beresfield, Newcastle, (pictured) when he was crushed beneath two stone slabs – each weighing 315kg –
At about 11.15am, Mr Bauer’s colleague left the warehouse showroom to use the bathroom, the court heard.
When the sales representative returned to the showroom at 11.19am he found Mr Bauer lying on the floor, partially crushed under two stone slabs.
Emergency services rushed to the warehouse but Mr Bauer was unable to be revived and was declared dead at the scene.
There were no witnesses to the stone slabs falling, however the last thing the worker saw was Mr Bauer operating the remote control to move a crane holding the slabs.
Avant Tone pleaded guilty to failing to comply to its duties under the NSW Work Health and Safety Act 2011 and therefore exposing Mr Bauer to the risk of serious injury or death.
‘The risk was the risk of workers, in particular Mr Bauer, suffering serious injury or death as a result of being struck and/or crushed by a stone slab being unloaded by the overhead travelling crane, whilst undertaking work in the warehouse,’ the court heard.
‘Avant Stone was not a company which took safety lightly.
‘However, it is apparent that they did not have appropriate systems in place in the warehouse (or indeed in the Sydney factory) to eliminate or minimise the risk of stone slabs tipping.’
The court found Avant Stone failed its duty on multiple counts including failing to provide an adequate racking system to prevent stone slabs from failing and failing to implement a documented job safety analysis specific to lifting and moving slabs.
It also was found it was failing to enforce a supervisory/spotting system to ensure safe systems of work are followed when moving or lifting slabs and failing to provide training and instructions on how to implement these.
Mr Bauer had been working at the company for about a month before he died and was reported to have been provided with induction and training when he started.
There were no written procedures for safely handling the heavy stone slabs and was given oral instruction instead.
The court heard that Avant Stone took steps to improve its safety systems after Mr Bauer’s death.
Avant Stone pleaded guilty to failing its safety duty and was fined $450,000 by the District Court of NSW (pictured, Avant Stone’s warehouse in Beresfield, in Newcastle)
The company commissioned specially designed A-frames with fall prevention barriers to minimise slabs from potentially falling during the handling process.
The improved A-frames were installed in both the Sydney and Beresfield warehouses.
Avant Stone also implemented safety documentation since Mr Bauer’s death and introduced risk assessment procedures and forms.
The court also found one of Avant Stone’s two directors showed ‘genuine remorse and contrition’.
He also ‘gave details of steps taken after the incident to deal with emotional and psychological impact of the incident upon workers,’ the court heard.
The District Court of NSW initially fined Avant Stone $600,000 which was reduced by 25 per cent following the company’s early guilty plea.
