Inquest for death of lift repairman
The government’s safety watchdog ruled the death of an experienced Wellington elevator technician in a workplace accident was not his employer’s fault.
Now, a coroner will hear two days of evidence, starting today, to establish why 54-year-old Brendon Scheib, who worked for Otis Elevator Company, failed to return home on January 14, 2016.
Scheib, who had almost three decades of industry experience, was killed when a lift fell on him in Wellington’s T&G Building – also known as the Harcourts Building.
His body lay at the bottom of the lift shaft for more than two hours before an alarm on his phone was sent to the Otis call centre. It was the sound of that barking dog alarm that led to his body being found by a colleague 30 minutes later.
At the time, Otis issued a statement saying ‘‘the safety of our employees is always a top priority’’.
Government watchdog WorkSafe investigated the fatality, and found Otis had adequate systems in place to keep its technicians safe.
Company protocols meant staff were trained to either shut a lift off completely in the machine room, or use two independent methods of stopping it – such as a pit switch, located at the entrance to the lift’s pit.
WorkSafe found that Scheib either thought he had engaged the pit switch or had knocked it accidentally, causing the lift to restart.
The building’s lift switches were subsequently tested by SGS New Zealand. It found that, while the switch design was compliant when installed, newer models prevented lifts from being started or stopped accidentally.
In July 2016, WorkSafe ruled the industry’s voluntary code of practice was inadequate; however, it did not lay charges against Otis.
Scheib’s widow, Deb, and his cousin, George Boraman, tried to take a private prosecution against his employers. They alleged the company failed to take all practicable steps to ensure Scheib was safe at work – a charge that carried a maximum fine of $250,000.
But Judge S M Harrop had to dismiss the case last March because their paperwork was filed late.
Deb Scheib spoke out for the first time on the one-year anniversary of her husband’s death. She said she knew something was wrong when he failed to return home about 5pm.
She was finally told by an Otis representative that something may have happened to Scheib about 8pm – the same time police officers knocked on her door to deliver the news of his death.