22.09.2010

Fatal fall from boom

A man died in Melbourne, Australia last week after the ground gave way under the boom lift he was operating, catapulting him from the platform.

Darin Johnson, 48, a glazier, died from head injuries last Thursday after falling 18 metres from the articulated boom lift he was using, while working on the construction of a new Gym at Jells Park Primary School in Melbourne's eastern suburbs.

Johnson was employed by Dingley Glass, a subcontractor to principal contractor Hansen Yuncken, the work is part of the federal government's school building programme.

It seems that the lift an articulated JLG boom was working with its boom fully extended and was being driven at full height when it started to bog down. As Johnson tried to get out of the situation, the lift began to sink on one side as the ground gave way- eventually causing it to tip rearwards.

The lift apparently came to rest on the ‘knuckle’ of its lower boom causing a catapult effect which flung the platform’s occupant some 10 metres from the lift. We understand that Johnson was wearing a harness, but may not have put it on correctly and does not appear to have attached the lanyard to the anchor point.

WorkSafe Victoria says that the ground the lift was operating on was in fact a back-filled ditch and only intended as a temporary track.

Local unions have claimed that there was no ‘safety representative’ on site and that if there had been one, he may well have checked the conditions the lift was working under and noticed that the machine was working on a filled ditch.

A spokeswoman for the main contractor Hansen Yuncken said: The company “is deeply saddened by the death on one of its sites and that it is assisting and co-operating fully with WorkSafe to determine the cause of the accident”. I also declined to comment about the claims made by the union.

Vertikal Comment

While the precise details of this unfortunate accident are still unclear, it does seem that if the operator had put his harness on correctly and attached it to the cage with a short lanyard, he may well still be alive today?

Driving at full height is one of the principle benefits of a self-propelled lift and can significantly improve efficiency. If used correctly it is perfectly safe – however it is essential that the ground be fully checked out in advance for culverts, hidden potholes, and kerbs or as in this case soft ground. This is particularly true for large boom lifts, such as this where the forces exerted on the ground are far higher than that of lighter vehicles such as cars and even trucks.