Why we don’t fuck around in areas that aren’t our core business
A Victorian bakery was recently fined $3.4 million for workplace manslaughter after a worker fell to his death during ceiling upgrade works. This article is about the danger zone businesses enter when they say, “We’ve got the manpower, let’s just do it.” This is an important one. Have a read and really think about where this might show up in your own business, because a great deal of risk can sit in the jobs outside your normal day-to-day work.
A Victorian garlic bread wholesaler has just been fined $3.4 million for workplace manslaughter after a worker fell to his death during ceiling works at a bakery. The business was doing ceiling upgrades and had engaged workers to remove large insulation panels from a roof space. One of those workers fell about four metres and died from his injuries.
Doing work at height is not a bakery’s core business. They know bread. They know production. They know food safety. They know their orders, their equipment, their staff, their suppliers and their day-to-day operations. But ceiling works? Working at height? Removing large insulation panels from a roof space? Understanding what standard applies, what guidance material should be checked, what controls are needed, what equipment is suitable, who is competent, and how the job should be supervised?
That is not normal bakery work. And that is exactly where businesses get exposed.
Saving a buck on DIY can be catastrophically expensive when it all turns pear-shaped.
Every business has this problem in some form. You have your normal work, the stuff your people understand, the work you do every day, and then you have the random jobs that pop up around the edges. The roof repair. Plant modification. A mezzanine job. Racking changes. Electrical work. Silica cutting. Asbestos removal. Confined space entry. Lifting something awkward. Working near traffic. Getting up on the roof because “it will only take five minutes”.
And this is where businesses get themselves into trouble. Because these high risk activities are not their bread and butter which means they often don’t have the capability, knowledge or experience to do them safely.
When I get a flat tyre, I am quite capable of pulling out the jack and changing it over to the spare. I know enough to get the car off the road, change the wheel, and get moving again.
But I do not then pretend I am a tyre specialist. I still take the car to the tyre shop immediately after, because I know my knowledge and competence is shaky at best. I get them to check it properly. I get the damaged tyre repaired or replaced. I get the wheel alignment checked. I make sure the vehicle is safe to keep driving.
Because being able to do something does not mean you are competent at it.
That is the bit businesses often miss.
They confuse “we can get this done” with “we are competent to plan, control and execute this work safely.”
How do you know where the line is?
Instead of asking “Can we get this done?”, ask “Are we actually competent to manage this work safely?” If the answer is no, or even “I’m not sure”, then stop and ask questions because if you don’t understand the risk, the work, the controls, the standards and the compliance obligations you are in the danger zone.
When work sits outside your normal business, your risk goes up because your familiarity goes down. You don’t know what you do not know. The job may look simple from the outside, but the consequences can still be catastrophic.
This is especially true for work that is clearly outside normal business-as-usual and has the potential to go badly wrong. Things like:
getting people up on roofs, into ceiling spaces, near open edges, or anywhere a fall could seriously injure or kill them
pulling things apart, cutting into structures, removing panels, changing walls, floors, beams, racking or anything that could affect how something is supported
doing work where asbestos might be present
cutting, grinding, drilling or disturbing materials that create dust
sending people into tanks, pits, silos, ducts, roof spaces or other tight areas where getting in, getting out or breathing safely could be an issue
digging trenches, excavating, or working where there may be underground power, gas, water or other services
working on or near electrical systems, switchboards, live services, gas lines, fuel lines, chemicals or pressure systems
working around roads, trucks, forklifts, mobile plant, loading areas or moving vehicles
lifting, moving or installing heavy or awkward items, especially where cranes, hoists, forklifts or lifting gear are involved
working near water, dams, tanks, wharves or anywhere someone could fall in and not get out easily
working in extreme heat, cold, poor air quality, fumes, dust, gases or other conditions that can become unsafe quickly
any job where you need specialist gear, licences, permits, engineering advice, rescue planning, or someone who actually knows that type of work
When these things are present, it’s not the time to muddle through. YouTube tutorials aren’t going to cut it.
So what do you do?
Ask whether this is work your business should actually build capability for.
If it is regular work, even if it is not daily, then build the capability properly internally. Understand the risks. Put the right controls in place. Train your people. Get the right equipment. Fix the process. Make sure the work is supervised.
But if it is unusual, irregular or outside your lane, be honest about that because competence is not just “I’ve been trained and have done this once before”. If your people only do the task every couple of years, they are not building real skill, judgement or familiarity. They are not staying close to the standards, controls or common failure points. Being trained and being competent are 2 different things.
That is where the cost-benefit analysis needs to factor in the risk. Not just what is cheaper, but what happens if this goes wrong? What does it cost if someone is hurt or killed? What does it cost if the regulator gets involved? What does it cost if the business is prosecuted?
Sometimes the answer is to build internal capability. Sometimes the answer is to bring in a competent contractor. Sometimes the answer is to redesign the work so the risk is removed altogether.
But the answer is never, “We’ve got the manpower, let’s just do it.” That is not a plan... that is a gamble, where you are gambling people’s health and safety and your business. We know the house odds when we gamble... at some stage, you are going to lose. And when it goes wrong, the delay, the scaffold hire or the contractor invoice will not look expensive anymore.
A dead worker is expensive.
A workplace manslaughter charge is expensive.
A $3.4 million fine is expensive.
The weight of knowing a family has lost someone because we pushed through on work we had no right doing is expensive.
That is why we do not fuck around in areas that are not our core business.
