On Thursday 5 March, the Melbourne Magistrates' Court heard ADCO Group Pty Ltd had entered into an enforceable undertaking while facing a single charge of failing to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, that a workplace under its management or control was safe and without risks to health.
WorkSafe may reinstate the charges if the undertaking is contravened or withdrawn.
ADCO was engaged as the principal contractor for the project and was responsible for fabricating, supplying and erecting structural steel in accordance with design drawings and fabrication requirements.
In December 2021, the company was provided with a bundle of quality assurance documents for structural steelwork known as the GT1 truss, the fabrication of which had been sub-contracted to a company based in China.
WorkSafe alleges ADCO failed to reduce the risk to health and safety by ensuring that before the truss was erected, a competent person reviewed the documents and verified in writing that:
- All welding on the truss was specified as Category Structural Purpose welding.
- Welding procedures for the fabrication of the truss were provided.
- Qualifications of the welders for the truss in the required welding procedures were provided.
- Full strength butt welds were subject to non-destructive testing including both visual and ultrasonic during fabrication.
- Welding inspection reports for the truss were in line with the design drawings and fabrication requirements.
In October 2022, a welded connection on the GT1 truss failed and a section of the partially erected Kew Recreational Centre collapsed. No one was on site at the time.
An investigation found the truss was not fabricated in accordance with design drawings and fabrication requirements, meaning anyone on site near the unstable structure after it was erected in February 2022 was at risk of serious injury or death.
The estimated $850,000 two-year undertaking requires ADCO to:
- Research, prepare and draft a detailed new Industry Standard for structural steel procurement, fabrication and erection, which will include a focus on welding quality assurance awareness and practical adaptive checklist forms and templates. This will include at least three two-hour focus groups with industry specialists to inform the development of the standard.
- Develop a package of three separate 1.5-hour training sessions that follow the content structure of the newly-developed industry standard presented via webinar and made publicly available for three years; and organise an industry breakfast symposium to increase awareness of the new standard and training package.
- Donate $160,000 to the Victoria Local Learning and Employment Network - an organisation that helps improve education, training and employment pathways for young people - with the focus of the donation to stimulate existing engineering, building and construction placement pathways at TAFE institutions.
WorkSafe Chief Health and Safety Officer Sam Jenkin said the length of time the risk of injury or death was active was deeply concerning.
"It is essential that workplaces using imported steel have robust quality assurance systems in place to ensure the steelwork meets design requirements and industry standards so that people are protected from the risk of structural failure or collapse."
"This comprehensive enforceable undertaking will ensure that over the next two years, ADCO contributes meaningfully to the wider construction industry by addressing any safety gaps with the latest information, research, standards and training to help prevent similar incidents from happening in the future."
"This will be a good outcome for the Victorian community."
Colab Building Tech Pty Ltd, the sub-contractor that engaged the company that fabricated the GT1 truss, is also facing charges in relation to the incident.
