A Person Conducting Business or Undertaking (PCBU) accused of fall-related breaches has committed to developing and certifying a safety management system against AS/NZS ISO 45001:2018, under a $274,000 WHS enforceable undertaking (EU) in which much of the spend will go towards initiatives that mature safety organisations already have.

As part of the enforceable undertaking (EU), the PCBU, a formwork company, will spend nearly $170,000 on initiatives classified as providing workplace benefits to itself and the related broader Group.

These are: achieving accreditation and certification against AS/NZS ISO 45001:2018, Occupational health and safety management systems – Requirements with guidance and engaging an "appropriately skilled safety officer" to "drive safety culture improvements led from the top".

Arguably, the EU's $60,000 initiative aimed at delivering "community benefits" – engaging an "at risk" worker to be trained in WHS issues – will directly benefit the prosecuted business through the role this worker performs for the company.

The PCBU’s EU involves a January 2018 incident where a construction site worker fell 2.5 metres through an unsecured formwork penetration and landed on steel reinforcing starter bars, sustaining serious injuries.

SafeWork NSW investigated the fall and issued a string of improvement notices to the PCBU, alleging it breached clauses of the State Work Health and Safety Regulation 2017 on managing the risk of falls, minimising fall risks and adhering to safe work method statements.

It subsequently accused the PCBU of contravening section 19(2) of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 in failing to ensure, so far as was reasonably practicable, the health and safety of "other persons", before accepting the PCBU's bid to enter an EU in lieu of prosecution.

According to the EU document, the AS/NZS ISO 45001: 2018 accreditation process "will assist the PCBU to improve its safety performance on a systematic basis with measurable improvements, including in relation to the identification and elimination or, where elimination is not reasonably practicable, minimisation of the risks associated with penetrations on multi-storey construction sites".

It will optimise the PCBU's systems by "improving the consistency of procedures implemented across worksites (where appropriate), facilitating the development of an improved safety culture and safety leadership across the organisation, and facilitating the assessment of the PCBU’s existing safety management system to identify areas for improvement and a framework for ensuring that the improvements are effected and their effectiveness is verified", the document says.

Under another enforceable initiative, the same PCBU will spend more than $45,000 on developing educational videos on safety issues like the management of fall risks on and around formwork activities.
The videos will be aimed at the broader formwork industry and distributed through PCBU’s online platforms and SafeWork NSW website.