Case study

From the Plumbing Industry Commission  
OH&S – first-hand experience on why it’s important

“What are you going to tell the mother of a dead 17-year-old apprentice? That you’ve saved $500, $1000 at the most, by not making the hole he was digging in safe?”

That’s what Melbourne plumbing practitioner, Luke Brady, has to say when asked what he thinks of practitioners who don’t take adequate occupational health and safety measures.

“And if the fact that you’ve caused the death of an apprentice, or anyone, through sheer negligence and greed isn’t enough to make you take OH&S seriously, then think of getting sued by a victim’s parents or widow,” Mr Brady said.

Having specialised in deep sewer repairs for the past 20 years, Mr Brady has plenty of reasons to take OH&S seriously.

“About 10 years ago, we were digging a hole and a guy drove off to take a load to the tip. While he was gone, I watched a heap of earth slide into the hole. Luckily there was no one in there but it was a reminder to make sure holes are made safe. You don’t come out of that situation alive. You come out in a body bag.”

Legally, any trenches or shafts deeper than 1.5m must be protected from collapsing with either trench shields, battered walls, soldier sets and/or closed timber. Details on how to make a trench or shaft safe can be found in WorkSafe’s Code of Practice Safety Precautions in Trenching Operations.

Mr Brady said he often came across plumbing practitioners who shrugged off OH&S trench requirements as being overzealous.

“There’s an old saying: ‘Bad ground won’t kill you; good ground will.’ It’s true because when people see bad ground, such as loose soil or sand, they’re more careful and take measures to make the work area safe. But when people see good ground, like firm clay, they think they don’t need to make the hole safe. This is dangerous because it might look like firm clay on top, but it could be next to a previous excavation site, causing serious instability on the edges of the trench.”

It takes Mr Brady no more than an hour to install closed sheet timber to make his trenches safe to work in, and he builds this time into the cost of the job when preparing the estimate.

“We stop digging once we get to 1.5m and add the braces as we go. I don’t let anyone go off to the tip during the job now either. We just stay until the hole is dug and the support systems are up to ensure it is safe.

“I don’t care if I get called ‘over the top’. It’s a small price to pay for protecting myself and anyone who is working with me,” Mr Brady said.