Fallout from scaffolding fail on busy street costs builders $90K

The Advertiser

01-07-2025

A CONSTRUCTION company in charge of demolition work on a busy main street where 60 metres of scaffolding flew off-site in heavy winds has been fined $90,000.
The scaffolding was picked up by a strong gust of wind and was thrown off the site and hit several cars, a light pole, and a person who was walking by.
Civil 1 Ptd Ltd was the principal contractor for the demolition of nine commercial buildings on Mann Street, Gosford, in July 2020.
The company had sub-contracted 21st Century Building Services Pty Ltd to supply, install and dismantle scaffolding at the site.
Type A hoarding, a type of external cover made from plywood sheeting 2.4 metres high, was also required to be fixed to the scaffolding facing Donnison and Mann Streets to protect people using the footpath from flying debris and dust, and above that mesh known as unimesh.
On August 18, Century Building workers attended the site to remove the scaffolding and hoarding but at 10.30am an excavator, being operated by Civil employee, struck an underground power line and work ceased.
After a couple of hours, it was clear the repairs would take a significant amount of time and the scaffolders left for the day.
The next day, at about 3pm, 21 bays of the scaffolding measuring about 60m in length were blown over by high winds that had been predicted for that day.
A woman walking by was hit in the back of the head and taken to hospital, while a large number of vehicles parked on Mann Street were damaged along with a light pole and other infrastructure.
Safe Work NSw visited the site and put a prohibition notice in place to alleviate concerns about how the concrete slab close to Mann Street could be demolished using excavators without creating a risk of flying debris that could injure pedestrians using the footpath.
At that time, the scaffold had been replaced with temporary cyclone wire fencing along Mann Street that was not covered with unimesh or similar.
The prohibition notice directed that "all demolition work within nine metres of the boundary adjacent to Mann Street" stop until Safe Work NSW was satisfied that the risk had been remedied with additional hoarding.
However, the same inspector who issued that notice watched from the SafeWork office on nearby Donnison Street two excavators that appeared to be operating on the site closer than the nine-metre requirement.
When he arrived on site, he saw that one of the excavators had moved out of the prohibited area but the other remained within it sifting through debris. The other excavator was fitted with a ripper attachment and was moving pieces of concrete out of the prohibited area.
Safe Work NSW charged Civil with several breaches of the Work Health and Safety Act, including putting workers and a pedestrian at risk of death or serious injury, and failing to comply with a prohibition notice.
The company was found guilty of putting people at risk of serious injury, but not death.
The control measures which should have been implemented were simple, convenient and known to the offender, and identified in the safety documents for the site, District Court Judge Andrew Scotting said in his judgement.
The work conducted in breach of the prohibition notice was carried out with the knowledge of the site supervisor, who knew the reasons for it and the dimensions of the prohibited work area, Judge Scotting found.
"I infer that the prohibition notice was breached because it suited the convenience of the offender to carry out the work at that time," he said.
21st Century Building Services Pty Ltd pleaded guilty to two offences under the Work Health and Safety Act over the same incident.
The first, putting at risk the lives and safety of its workers, and the second, putting at risk the life and safety of the woman who was struck.
The company was convicted and fined in November, a total of $300,000, with a 25 per cent discount due to a guilty plea, bringing it to $225,000.
A CONSTRUCTION company in charge of demolition work on a busy main street where 60 metres of scaffolding flew off-site in heavy winds has been fined $90,000.
The scaffolding was picked up by a strong gust of wind and was thrown off the site and hit several cars, a light pole, and a person who was walking by.
Civil 1 Ptd Ltd was the principal contractor for the demolition of nine commercial buildings on Mann Street, Gosford, in July 2020.
The company had sub-contracted 21st Century Building Services Pty Ltd to supply, install and dismantle scaffolding at the site.
Type A hoarding, a type of external cover made from plywood sheeting 2.4 metres high, was also required to be fixed to the scaffolding facing Donnison and Mann Streets to protect people using the footpath from flying debris and dust, and above that mesh known as unimesh.
On August 18, Century Building workers attended the site to remove the scaffolding and hoarding but at 10.30am an excavator, being operated by Civil employee, struck an underground power line and work ceased.
After a couple of hours, it was clear the repairs would take a significant amount of time and the scaffolders left for the day.
The next day, at about 3pm, 21 bays of the scaffolding measuring about 60m in length were blown over by high winds that had been predicted for that day.
A woman walking by was hit in the back of the head and taken to hospital, while a large number of vehicles parked on Mann Street were damaged along with a light pole and other infrastructure.
Safe Work NSw visited the site and put a prohibition notice in place to alleviate concerns about how the concrete slab close to Mann Street could be demolished using excavators without creating a risk of flying debris that could injure pedestrians using the footpath.
At that time, the scaffold had been replaced with temporary cyclone wire fencing along Mann Street that was not covered with unimesh or similar.
The prohibition notice directed that "all demolition work within nine metres of the boundary adjacent to Mann Street" stop until Safe Work NSW was satisfied that the risk had been remedied with additional hoarding.
However, the same inspector who issued that notice watched from the SafeWork office on nearby Donnison Street two excavators that appeared to be operating on the site closer than the nine-metre requirement.
When he arrived on site, he saw that one of the excavators had moved out of the prohibited area but the other remained within it sifting through debris. The other excavator was fitted with a ripper attachment and was moving pieces of concrete out of the prohibited area.
Safe Work NSW charged Civil with several breaches of the Work Health and Safety Act, including putting workers and a pedestrian at risk of death or serious injury, and failing to comply with a prohibition notice.
The company was found guilty of putting people at risk of serious injury, but not death.
The control measures which should have been implemented were simple, convenient and known to the offender, and identified in the safety documents for the site, District Court Judge Andrew Scotting said in his judgement.
The work conducted in breach of the prohibition notice was carried out with the knowledge of the site supervisor, who knew the reasons for it and the dimensions of the prohibited work area, Judge Scotting found.
"I infer that the prohibition notice was breached because it suited the convenience of the offender to carry out the work at that time," he said.
21st Century Building Services Pty Ltd pleaded guilty to two offences under the Work Health and Safety Act over the same incident.
The first, putting at risk the lives and safety of its workers, and the second, putting at risk the life and safety of the woman who was struck.
The company was convicted and fined in November, a total of $300,000, with a 25 per cent discount due to a guilty plea, bringing it to $225,000.
A CONSTRUCTION company in charge of demolition work on a busy main street where 60 metres of scaffolding flew off-site in heavy winds has been fined $90,000.
The scaffolding was picked up by a strong gust of wind and was thrown off the site and hit several cars, a light pole, and a person who was walking by.
Civil 1 Ptd Ltd was the principal contractor for the demolition of nine commercial buildings on Mann Street, Gosford, in July 2020.
The company had sub-contracted 21st Century Building Services Pty Ltd to supply, install and dismantle scaffolding at the site.
Type A hoarding, a type of external cover made from plywood sheeting 2.4 metres high, was also required to be fixed to the scaffolding facing Donnison and Mann Streets to protect people using the footpath from flying debris and dust, and above that mesh known as unimesh.
On August 18, Century Building workers attended the site to remove the scaffolding and hoarding but at 10.30am an excavator, being operated by Civil employee, struck an underground power line and work ceased.
After a couple of hours, it was clear the repairs would take a significant amount of time and the scaffolders left for the day.
The next day, at about 3pm, 21 bays of the scaffolding measuring about 60m in length were blown over by high winds that had been predicted for that day.
A woman walking by was hit in the back of the head and taken to hospital, while a large number of vehicles parked on Mann Street were damaged along with a light pole and other infrastructure.
Safe Work NSw visited the site and put a prohibition notice in place to alleviate concerns about how the concrete slab close to Mann Street could be demolished using excavators without creating a risk of flying debris that could injure pedestrians using the footpath.
At that time, the scaffold had been replaced with temporary cyclone wire fencing along Mann Street that was not covered with unimesh or similar.
The prohibition notice directed that "all demolition work within nine metres of the boundary adjacent to Mann Street" stop until Safe Work NSW was satisfied that the risk had been remedied with additional hoarding.
However, the same inspector who issued that notice watched from the SafeWork office on nearby Donnison Street two excavators that appeared to be operating on the site closer than the nine-metre requirement.
When he arrived on site, he saw that one of the excavators had moved out of the prohibited area but the other remained within it sifting through debris. The other excavator was fitted with a ripper attachment and was moving pieces of concrete out of the prohibited area.
Safe Work NSW charged Civil with several breaches of the Work Health and Safety Act, including putting workers and a pedestrian at risk of death or serious injury, and failing to comply with a prohibition notice.
The company was found guilty of putting people at risk of serious injury, but not death.
The control measures which should have been implemented were simple, convenient and known to the offender, and identified in the safety documents for the site, District Court Judge Andrew Scotting said in his judgement.
The work conducted in breach of the prohibition notice was carried out with the knowledge of the site supervisor, who knew the reasons for it and the dimensions of the prohibited work area, Judge Scotting found.
"I infer that the prohibition notice was breached because it suited the convenience of the offender to carry out the work at that time," he said.
21st Century Building Services Pty Ltd pleaded guilty to two offences under the Work Health and Safety Act over the same incident.
The first, putting at risk the lives and safety of its workers, and the second, putting at risk the life and safety of the woman who was struck.
The company was convicted and fined in November, a total of $300,000, with a 25 per cent discount due to a guilty plea, bringing it to $225,000.
A CONSTRUCTION company in charge of demolition work on a busy main street where 60 metres of scaffolding flew off-site in heavy winds has been fined $90,000.
The scaffolding was picked up by a strong gust of wind and was thrown off the site and hit several cars, a light pole, and a person who was walking by.
Civil 1 Ptd Ltd was the principal contractor for the demolition of nine commercial buildings on Mann Street, Gosford, in July 2020.
The company had sub-contracted 21st Century Building Services Pty Ltd to supply, install and dismantle scaffolding at the site.
Type A hoarding, a type of external cover made from plywood sheeting 2.4 metres high, was also required to be fixed to the scaffolding facing Donnison and Mann Streets to protect people using the footpath from flying debris and dust, and above that mesh known as unimesh.
On August 18, Century Building workers attended the site to remove the scaffolding and hoarding but at 10.30am an excavator, being operated by Civil employee, struck an underground power line and work ceased.
After a couple of hours, it was clear the repairs would take a significant amount of time and the scaffolders left for the day.
The next day, at about 3pm, 21 bays of the scaffolding measuring about 60m in length were blown over by high winds that had been predicted for that day.
A woman walking by was hit in the back of the head and taken to hospital, while a large number of vehicles parked on Mann Street were damaged along with a light pole and other infrastructure.
Safe Work NSw visited the site and put a prohibition notice in place to alleviate concerns about how the concrete slab close to Mann Street could be demolished using excavators without creating a risk of flying debris that could injure pedestrians using the footpath.
At that time, the scaffold had been replaced with temporary cyclone wire fencing along Mann Street that was not covered with unimesh or similar.
The prohibition notice directed that "all demolition work within nine metres of the boundary adjacent to Mann Street" stop until Safe Work NSW was satisfied that the risk had been remedied with additional hoarding.
However, the same inspector who issued that notice watched from the SafeWork office on nearby Donnison Street two excavators that appeared to be operating on the site closer than the nine-metre requirement.
When he arrived on site, he saw that one of the excavators had moved out of the prohibited area but the other remained within it sifting through debris. The other excavator was fitted with a ripper attachment and was moving pieces of concrete out of the prohibited area.
Safe Work NSW charged Civil with several breaches of the Work Health and Safety Act, including putting workers and a pedestrian at risk of death or serious injury, and failing to comply with a prohibition notice.
The company was found guilty of putting people at risk of serious injury, but not death.
The control measures which should have been implemented were simple, convenient and known to the offender, and identified in the safety documents for the site, District Court Judge Andrew Scotting said in his judgement.
The work conducted in breach of the prohibition notice was carried out with the knowledge of the site supervisor, who knew the reasons for it and the dimensions of the prohibited work area, Judge Scotting found.
"I infer that the prohibition notice was breached because it suited the convenience of the offender to carry out the work at that time," he said.
21st Century Building Services Pty Ltd pleaded guilty to two offences under the Work Health and Safety Act over the same incident.
The first, putting at risk the lives and safety of its workers, and the second, putting at risk the life and safety of the woman who was struck.
The company was convicted and fined in November, a total of $300,000, with a 25 per cent discount due to a guilty plea, bringing it to $225,000.