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Case study report on the 2019 scaffolding accident involving Synergy scaffolding services.

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C A S E S T U D Y R E P O R

Contents Executive Summary...............................................................................................................................2 Introduction...........................................................................................................................................2 Case Description....................................................................................................................................3 Literature Review...................................................................................................................................4 Case Analysis.........................................................................................................................................6 Recommendations.................................................................................................................................7 Conclusion.............................................................................................................................................7 References.............................................................................................................................................8

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Executive Summary In this case study report, the collapse of a scaffolding structure erected by Synergy Scaffolding Services, in Macquarie Park NSW on April 1st, 2019, is researched, analysed and investigated. The analysis details the causes of the failure of the scaffolding structure, and Synergy’s failure in eliminating the known risks which led to the death of a young 18 year old apprentice worker, Christopher Cassaniti, and an injured co-worker. Recommendations were also suggested, in order to help prevent a possible outcome like such in future events. These recommendations will largely help the company, Synergy Scaffolding Services, mend and aid their poor risk management and evaluation, which is outlined in this case study. Some of the recommendations that were listed include broad information given by SafeWork NSW 2019, that state all the required scaffolding safety regulations and safety checks. It also involves a checklist which checks each individual component of scaffolding structures to ensure that a safe work environment has been created. A literature review has also been provided to provide a backbone to the investigation in this case study, to allow a clear understanding of the incident event and its possible related causes. Such literature include articles ‘Emails reveal builders were warned scaffolding at a Sydney construction site’, ‘Safety watchdog to investigate 'all factors' in Sydney scaffolding death’ and webpages from SafeWork NSW, ‘Scaffolding’ and ‘Scaffolding: a definition’.

Introduction The failure of a scaffolding structure which led to the death of an 18 year old apprentice and another co-worker injured, on April 1st, 2019, in Macquarie Park. The source of the collapse of the scaffolding structure has not yet been found, however research shows that there were many factors involved in its failure. Many of these reasons are seen to be related to poor risk management and assessment, which involves a professional inspection of the equipment prior to its use. If an improper assessment is practised, then an incident as such as the Macquarie Park scaffold failure may occur, putting several workers and lives at risk. There are many ways to avoid a collapse and failure, some that involve a clear understanding of certain compliances, ones which help prevent and create a safework environment. These prevention methods and information are outlined and discussed in this case study, as it aims to provide a reason and cause of the scaffolding failure and as to why Synergy Scaffolding failed in preventing the accident. Recommendations are also listed to help the company and workplace rectify all the possible hazards and risks that were discussed in the future.

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Case Description On the 1st of April, 2019, a 15-17 metre high scaffolding failed and collapsed in a construction site in Macquarie Park, Sydney. Tradesmen were working at the bottom of the level of the scaffolding when it suddenly collapsed, leaving an 18 year old apprentice, Christopher Cassaniti, crushed and killed, as well as another man in critical condition. The cause of the accident is still unknown, however there are numerous factors that can have a role in the accident. Proper setup and preparation methods may not have been put into place. Positioning, aligning and all required measurements may not have been properly calculated and reassured, therefore causing the structure to collapse, crushing the two victims with tonnes of steel, concrete and other sorts of material. For scaffolding to be used appropriately, the structure must be inspected upon use. The job of the inspectors is to ensure that the scaffolding regulations are followed and met for the structure to be deemed as safe and compliant, once they consider it to be reasonable for safe work practice. If such scaffolding is not compliant with such regulations then not only do legal issues arrive, but a failure in the structure which may also lead to injuries upon construction workers, and possibly fatalities. The aftermath of the accident has resulted in many hours of investigation, and lawsuits being filed against the scaffolding company, ‘Synergy Scaffolding Services’. According to court documents, Synergy has had previous lawsuits in the past regarding their negligence towards the safety concerns of their scaffolding. An incident from 2017 shows Synergy’s negligence, when employees were dismantling pieces of the scaffolding structure, where a piece allegedly fell and hit an employee on the head at the bottom. Upon further investigation of the incident that occurred in April 2019, email evidence was revealed of the company’s negligence of safety concerns. These uncovered emails were obtained and prove the dangerous practices that were taking place at the construction site, before the 18 year old apprentice’s death. Such emails show of Synergy’s knowledge of the dangerous risks that the scaffolding posed, as they warned the safety officers and inspectors of a raker tie being removed from the structure, and that it was “starting to get ridiculous”. Other emails involve attached photos of scaffold that was removed, as well as tampering of the scaffold and ties being described as an “ongoing issue”. SafeWork NSW and NSW Police are continuing their investigation in the scaffolding collapse. The construction site where the incident occurred is expected to close upon further investigation, which will then conclude when the site is deemed safe and all evidence has been collected. Investigation also states that there were another two workers involved, who were laying bricks on the top level when they jumped to safety. SafeWork NSW has conducted a campaign called the “towards zero falls from heights campaign” to ensure that all scaffolding structures are compliant. The result of this campaign has already detected almost 50 percent of all scaffolding structures to be non-compliant, and many fines and notices were issued. This campaign will continue until 2022 to prevent further accidents and fatalities from occurring, and to familiarise all businesses with the safety requirements involved in scaffolding.

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Literature Review The area of analysis is assessing the risks (hazard identification, risk management). It is important to identify and analyse the risks and hazards involved on a construction site, in order to prevent them and ensure a work safe environment. Risk assessment involves proper inspection of equipment and structures, by calculating and taking measurements that relate to the compliances and standards. Several technology and equipment are used to carry out these measurements and analysis for the inspectors to mark the scaffolding as safe. The scaffolding incident that occurred on April 1st 2019 was the result of a poor risk analysis and assessment. The cause of such poor assessment of the risks caused the life of an 18-year-old apprentice, and the injury of another worker on-site. The “Emails reveal builders were warned scaffolding at a Sydney construction site” is a report published by DailyMail, written by Adam Mccleery. It contains email archives that provide evidence and information about the incident of the scaffolding. In this article, there are several direct emails between the company ‘Synergy Scaffolding Services’ and the inspection officer which state the risks and hazards that have been identified. It shows the evidence and proof of the poor risk management and the safety concerns of the scaffolding, which was raised repeatedly for days upon the death of 18-year-old Christopher Cassaniti. The article states that emails were sent to the builder months before the incident occurred, allegedly explaining that ‘lives were at risk’ and the danger in the construction site was ‘starting to get ridiculous’. It is said that emails showed the hazards assessed and analysed, which also included photos of several parts of the scaffolding that have been removed. This was known to be a problem in the past, as seen in previous emails from June 2018. Some of these parts that were removed are used to brace the structure, which has an important significance to the safety and sturdiness of the structure which possibly relates to its collapsing. The emails from Synergy Scaffolding allegedly read “This is putting lives at risk and exposing my men to possible issues” and “Once again, they shouldn't be touching scaffold, especially the ties... this had been an on-going issue”. These emails show the company’s struggle to manage the risks that have been raised and identified, as the issue had been recurring for months on end. Despite knowing of these Hazards, the company’s motive to eliminate and confront these issues can be seen as lacking, as they continued to face the same hazards and risks, which therefore ended in the death of a young apprentice. These emails are a valuable source to the investigation of the scaffolding collapse, as they display the great level of neglect towards the safety of the structure, and that the hazards and risks were not properly managed and assessed. Another article titled ‘Safety watchdog to investigate 'all factors' in Sydney scaffolding death’ written by Matt Bungard 2019 and published by The Sydney Morning Herald, shows the research and investigation of all possible factors regarding the scaffolding’s collapse. This extensive research is important towards the investigation as is provides possibilities to the source of the accident. The article also links to the tampering of the scaffolding structure, and the removal of the scaffolding ties, however ‘Safework NSW said they were yet to rule any potential cause out.’ (Bungard 2019). According to (Bungard 2019) the spokeswomen stated that ‘All factors that may have contributed to scaffold safety on site will be considered, including and not limited to; environmental factors, design, construction and erection of the scaffold and its maintenance and loads that the structure may have supported’. This above statement from a SafeWork NSW representative shows several key points and factors of the accident that is being investigated, in order to properly assess the hazards that were involved beforehand. The articles states a form of speculation towards the people who erected the scaffolding, as it states that as long as it is built by licence people in accordance to all the regulations then it should remain standing, however if built by un-licenced people it will be guaranteed to fail. 4

There is a belief that alterations were made by un-licence people with lacking knowledge, giving insight to whether or not bracing ties were removed by an unauthorised non-professional, which led to the accident. The article also states that wind is another big factor in the safety of the structure, so more ties are recommended to brace the structure during an increase in wind speed. The poor risk management can be seen in the alterations of the scaffolding, as the structure must have regular inspections to ensure compliance with regulations. According to SafeWork NSW (2019), in order to have a safe system, safety checks must be conducted before the use of scaffolding. In order to ensure a safe scaffolding structure, inspection must check that “the scaffold is built on solid foundations” (SafeWork NSW 2019). A solid foundation will prevent the structure from failing from the bottom and leading to the rest of it collapsing on itself. Another important check relating to the cause of the 2019 Macquarie scaffolding accident, is that “there are adequate ties to the building” (SafeWork NSW 2019). From the articles mentioned above, it is said that some of the scaffolding ties (the component that braces the structure) were removed and tampered with, likely by an un-professional. This may have caused the structure to fail and thus the result of poor risk checks.

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Case Analysis On April 1st, 2019, a scaffolding structure in Macquarie collapsed leading to the death of an 18 year old apprentice and a 39 year old co-worker injured in a critical condition. The topic area of analysis that will be assessed in this case study is the assessment of risks, hazard identification and risk management. According to the article titled, ‘Emails reveal builders were warned scaffolding at a Sydney construction site’, (Adam Mccleery 2019), emails suggest some of the hazards and risks that were identified early before the accident occurred, with evidence showing a sense of negligence towards the safety of the scaffolding. The emails between the scaffolding company, Synergy Scaffolding, and the builders on site, reveal the lack of proper risk management after identifying the several risks that were seen with the scaffolding. The erection of the scaffolding may have led to its destruction due to the tampering and removal of ties in the structure, which is identified in the emails shown in the article. An email between the scaffolding and company and the builders reveal, ‘One raker tie on Building M level has been removed. This seems to be a recurring theme and this is starting to get ridiculous’ (Mccleery 2019). This proves the negligence of the structure’s risks and hazards as they identified the issue and did not attempt to properly fix and investigate the issue. These risks that were seen in the email are common, and are listed on the SafeWork NSW web page ‘Scaffolding’ as the safety checks that are to be conducted with every structured scaffolding. The website states in order to ensure a safe and effective scaffold, ‘the scaffold remains complete throughout the job, with no unauthorised removal of components - handrails, midrails, toeboards/brick guards, ledgers, planks, hop-ups’ (SafeWork NSW 2019). The emails show that there was a removal of ties in the scaffolding structure, which is non-compliant to the safety check and management as stated on the SafeWork website.

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Recommendations Synergy Scaffolding Services is known to have poor risk management and identification. They lack poor confrontation to hazards and rectifying them as soon as they arise. In order to correct these issues, SafeWork NSW have listed information on their website on how to properly manage risks and hazards when handling and erecting scaffolding. It is highly recommended that every worker in Synergy Scaffolding, and the builders and inspectors on site, read through the website’s information on how to assess these risks and properly conduct a safety inspection. SafeWork NSW also have a scaffolding inspection checklist available on their website, prior to the use of scaffolding equipment. Figure 1 shows the first page of the check list provided, which helps thoroughly check each component in the structure, to ensure that they are compliant and deemed safe for work. Such hazards involve improperly inspecting the equipment and resolving the issues that arise immediately, which an result in pieces, and like the accident that occurred in Macquarie Park on April 1st, Figure 1 – Scaffolding Checklist sheet, Page 1 2019, the whole scaffolding structure https://www.safework.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/481 814/scaffold-inspection-checklist.pdf) collapsing. A hazard as such may even lead to injuries and fatalities in the workplace.

Conclusion Throughout the analysis of the Macquarie Park scaffolding incident that occurred in April 1 st, 2019, the possible reasons, and hazard prevention methods that were involved in the accident were identified. The main cause of the accident was due to the improper risk evaluation and rectification, which were shown in email evidence provided by the article listed. The cause of the accident is still currently under investigation by the NSW Police and SafeWork NSW. Although a final answer has not been yet found, numerous possible reasons were outlined to provide a clear understanding on the negligence of proper risk management. Recommendations were given to further aid and prevent situations as such accident, such as the information found on SafeWork NSW and the checklist which will provide a better and safer work ethics in future scaffolds used in construction.

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References Scaffolds: a definition n.d., 2018th, viewed 30/06/2019, . Scaffolding n.d, viewed 30/06/2019, . Bungard M 2019, Safety watchdog to investigate 'all factors' in Sydney scaffolding death, viewed 30/06/2019, . Fellner C 2019, Labourer takes company to court over construction site accident, viewed 30/06/2019, . Graham B 2019, ‘Starting to get ridiculous’: Emails reveal safety concerns before tradie’s death, viewed 30/06/2019, . Mccleery A 2019, Emails reveal builders were warned scaffolding at a Sydney construction site, viewed 30/06/2019, . Sas N Cockburn P 2019, Scaffolding construction workers' emotional search for 18yo after collapse at Sydney worksite, viewed 30/06/2019, .

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