Backlash to crane blitz

MASTER Builders Queensland says its “phone has been ringing hot” since inspectors blitzed cranes at Gold Coast, Brisbane and Sunshine Coast worksites.

“We’ve had nearly 20 emails from our members trying to understand what was going on and what their rights are,” said Paul Bidwell, the industry body’s deputy CEO.

Last week dozens of construction sites across southeast Queensland were forced to shut after Workplace Health and Safety Queensland (WHSQ) demanded they install a new fall-arrest system on their cranes.

Mr Bidwell said he was aware of 32 prohibition notices and 24 improvement notices to builders and crane operators, with worksites shut as a result of the blitz.

“The phone has been ringing hot with businesses wondering what was going on,” he said. “We know that many builders and operators also intend to appeal the notices.”

On Friday afternoon, nearly a week after the workplace inspections, WHSQ put out a guidance notice on its website saying the “safety alert is to highlight that specific fall-arrest systems are required if a continuous vertical ladder is in place for accessing the total length of a crane tower”.

Mr Bidwell said Masters Builders had a good relationship with WHSQ and knew it was acting in response to a complaint and “genuine safety risk”.

“However, given the absence of any evidence of an incident to date, we don’t understand why there was a need for a safety blitz and why this couldn’t be handled via a guidance note in the first instance, advising the industry of the issue and working with them to find a solution,” he said. “We are now working closely with WHSQ and the industry on both an interim solution that gets these cranes back in play.”

Mr Bidwell said he had no doubt the shutdowns would have cost some businesses a lot of money, depending on where they were in the build schedule.

A WHSQ spokesman said prohibition notices were issued where there were no controls in place, as is required by the Code of Practice in relation to falls for a continuous vertical ladder given the level of risk.

“Following the tragedies at Eagle Farm and Dreamworld, the WHSQ Best Practice Review 2017 recommended the implementation of a more direct compliance and monitoring enforcement policy,” he said. “This policy sets out our enforcement approach, including the use of on-the-spot fines. In line with this, there has been an increase in all enforcement action.”