Freight company fined $40,000 over forklift safety failures

The company had earlier pleaded guilty to one charge of failing to maintain a safe workplace. Sunshine Magistrates' Court imposed the fine on Friday 22 November and also ordered the company to pay $4,037 in costs.

WorkSafe issued an improvement notice in December 2022 after an inspector responding to an anonymous complaint observed several safety concerns. The notice required the company to reduce the risk of collisions between forklifts and pedestrians and revise its traffic management plan.

The inspector saw a forklift loading pallets onto a truck and pushing them towards workers on the opposite side. Other concerns included forklifts operating within a metre of pedestrians and people crossing a yard near moving forklifts without pedestrian walkways.

Products were also stored across a pedestrian walkway, and forklift exclusion areas were not clearly marked. The court heard that inspectors returning in May, July and August 2023 saw further instances of forklifts operating close to pedestrians.

It was reasonably practicable for the company to eliminate or reduce the risk through a traffic management plan that maintained a three-metre exclusion zone between pedestrians and powered mobile plant, designated pedestrian walkways and truck driver safety zones, or both.

WorkSafe Executive Director Health and Safety Sam Jenkin said forklifts and pedestrians did not mix. He said businesses using forklifts or mobile plant needed an effective, current traffic management plan that was put into practice.

"This year alone, almost 150 Victorian workers have needed time off work after being injured by forklifts so there's no excuse for not taking the risks seriously."

How Blue Safe can help: Our free WHS self-check can help you review your business's approach to workplace health and safety and identify areas that may need closer attention. Take the free WHS self-check