Findings Report: Concrete Placing Equipment 2022
A evaluation findings report into the Concrete Placing Equipment (CPE) project, which aimed to reduce worker injuries and fatalities when hit by moving plant and equipment during onsite concrete operations.
Project timeframe: April to June 2022
Summary and overview
The Concrete Placing Equipment (CPE) project aimed to reduce the number of workers that are seriously injured or killed when hit by moving plant and equipment during onsite concrete operations.
The three major risks related to CPE include:
- concrete - due to mechanical or equipment failure or blockage
- boom - inadequate clearance and mechanical failure
- hose - blockage or purging/blowing out.
Types of sites visited
SafeWork NSW visited 78 construction sites across NSW, the types of sites included:
- house construction - 35%
- commercial - 25%
- infrastructure - 18%
- mid high-rise - 18%
- other, for example townhouse construction - 3%
- demolition - 1%.
Pump type
Various pump types were inspected including:
- line - 6
- mobile - 58
- others (including belt conveyor system, separate satellite pump or no pump) - 7.
Notices and fines
46 notices were issued as part of this project, totalling $3,600 in fines.
The highest number of notices were issued for inadequate traffic control, the risk of falls, and managing the risks of plant.
Due to the generally high level of compliance on sites, only a small number of notices were issued for inadequate plant guarding, not wearing PPE, and formwork.
Inspector observations
Overall, inspectors noted a high level of compliance on sites.
Planning for safety
What’s not working well:
- 64% of setups on a suspended slab had a structural engineer verify the slab’s load capacity.
What’s working well:
- 81% of sites did have adequate control measures in place for traffic management.
CPE Equipment
What’s working well:
- 98% of pumps appeared to be in a serviceable order with no visual signs of damage around outriggers, boom or line, cabin, hopper, or operators’ controls.
- 98% of flexible hose ends were secured to the boom by a safety chain.
- 94% of pump logbooks showed evidence of inspection maintenance, assessment and repairs undertaken.
CPE Operator
What’s working well:
- 98% of pump operators ensured they were not operating within a distance that could likely cause the boom to strike other structures or plant.
- 94% of operators conducted a prestart inspection including testing E stops.
Conclusion
Whilst a high level of compliance was observed within the CPE environment in several safety categories, there were some areas where compliance was slightly lower, particularly around the structural verification of slab load capacity. These are encouraging results however, Safework NSW will continue to monitor the practices and operations within the CPE environment.
SafeWork NSW recommendation
SafeWork will continue to work with major industry stakeholders through its state-wide dedicated construction teams to increase awareness, education, and improve overall safety standards and commitment to risks associated with concreate placing equipment in the NSW construction industry.