Concrete pumping under microscope after raft on incidents like a near miss Wagga Base Hospital car park

A near miss occurred on the Wagga Base Hospital car park construction site in July last year during a concrete pour.

During concrete pumping the concrete pump truck hit some scaffolding, dislodging a piece which fell nine metres to the ground.

While no one was injured, SafeWork said instances like this are becoming more common in NSW.

Between 2017 and 2020 alone, SafeWork NSW Inspectors attended around 60 incidents, including one fatality and a further 17 involving serious injuries, many of which were caused by malfunctioning concrete placement equipment.

SafeWork NSW Acting Regional Director of Construction Services Group Mark Barber said over recent years there have been incidents where concrete lines have burst under pressure, failure of concrete boom components resulting in structural collapse and even contact between concrete booms and overhead power lines.

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Mr Barber said as the construction industry "is booming" currently, and the chance for serious safety incidents is rising as a result.

In terms of concrete pumping, accidents often happen when there is a lack of "consultation and coordination" on a building site between the concrete pumping team and the contractor.

Incidents also occur when maintenance is not up to date on the pumps themselves, he said.

"As far as safety, safety is everybody's responsibility on the site," he said.

Burgess Earthmoving Concrete and Quarries owner Russell Burgess runs one pump on various jobs around Wagga and Albury.

Mr Burgess and his company were not involved in the incident at Wagga Base Hospital but he said the machinery pumps concrete at approximately 85 bar of pressure, equivalent to around 15 psi, and is extremely dangerous if not maintained correctly.

His pump is checked by outside inspectors on a yearly basis, he said, as well as checks from the Roads and Maritime Services.

But the most important checks are made daily, with extensive cleaning and checks by the pump operators.

Safety is paramount to keeping a business running smoothly, Mr Burgess said.

'You're only just around the corner from an accident all the time, so you've got to make sure you're doing everything right," he said.

"You're only as good as your last stuff up.

"We've had no problems with anything we've ever done."

According to SafeWork Australia there were over 130,000 serious injury claims from workplace incidents in 2021, costing the economy $28.6 billion in lost productivity and costs from the injuries.

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