Investigate the trestle near miss at the library refurbishment

You are the WHS Coordinator reporting to the WHS and Quality Manager.

Simulated workplaceAdvanced missionCAQA Keystone Construction and Plumbing

What is going on

At the Southern Schools library refurbishment a subcontract ceiling installer working from a trestle without a handrail lost his balance and stepped down onto a stack of carpet tiles. He was not hurt, but the ceiling grid is 2.7 metres above the floor and the work was being done from an unprotected platform. The WHS and Quality Manager has opened the event in the WHS register, stopped trestle work on the site and asked you to investigate. The subcontractor's SWMS for ceiling installation is on file but was signed three weeks ago by a different crew. The site diary shows the principal has been pressing for weekend work to finish before term four. Your report is due on 18 September.

Rob Tillbrook, WHS and Quality Manager
Subject: Investigation needed: trestle near miss at the school library

This morning a ceiling grid installer at the Southern Schools library job lost his balance on a trestle without a handrail and stepped down onto a stack of carpet tiles. Nobody was hurt but it was close. I have opened the event in the WHS register and stopped trestle work on that site. I need a full investigation report by 18 September that identifies the immediate and underlying causes, recommends corrective actions in hierarchy order and checks whether the SWMS for ceiling work was in force and signed. Use the Incident, Near Miss and Hazard Reporting Procedure.

Your brief

Investigate the near miss, identify the immediate and underlying causes, check whether the SWMS and the site controls were in force, and recommend corrective actions in hierarchy order with owners and dates, then update the register so the event can be closed by the WHS committee.

Work through it

You do not need to do it all. Doing a few of these will show you what the work is like. Your ticks and notes stay on this device.

Read the Incident, Near Miss and Hazard Reporting Procedure and the SWMS Procedure and list the records you must gather and the timeframes that apply.
Review the WHS register entry and the site diary entries for the library project and identify who was on site, what work was scheduled and what pressures were recorded.
Interview the installer, the site supervisor and a witness, recording facts and not opinions, and check the training matrix for the installer's induction and any height work training.
Examine the subcontractor's SWMS against the task actually performed and determine whether it was reviewed, current and signed by the crew doing the work.
Analyse the immediate causes and the underlying system causes, including planning, supervision, equipment selection and schedule pressure.
Recommend corrective actions in hierarchy order with an owner and due date for each, and assess whether the event is notifiable to WorkSafe Victoria with reasons.
Update the WHS Incident and Hazard Register entry with the findings and actions, and draft a toolbox talk for the site using the Toolbox Talk Record template.

My notes: what did I enjoy, and what surprised me?

What someone in this role would produce

Investigation report with causes and evidence
Corrective action list with owners and dates
Updated WHS register entry
Draft toolbox talk record

Printing this is a record of what you explored. It is not a certificate or a qualification.