Paul Torre was working in the mobile maintenance workshop at Cloudbreak on Christmas Eve, 2010, when he was fatally injured carrying out work on a Caterpillar 793C haul truck.
“Mr Torre was working on the truck’s suspension cylinder unit which consists of a strut and spindle,” Western Australian Department of Mines and Petroleum state mining engineer Andrew Chaplyn said.
“The strut is part of the shock absorption and suspension system of the truck and is essentially a hollow rod and cylinder, the inside of which is charged with high pressure nitrogen gas and hydraulic oil.
“An investigation by the Department of Mines and Petroleum found that the strut had been removed from the truck by the night shift workers on 23 December 2010, but had not been depressurised as required by the original equipment manufacturers (OEM) procedure.”
Additional work, which was also not in accordance with the OEM procedure, was performed on the strut that caused the end plug to be jammed into the strut, in such a way that it was no longer effectively stable and restrained.
“Our investigation indicated that Mr Torre was most likely unaware that the strut was still under high pressure while he was working on it,” Chaplyn said.
The end plug ejected under pressure from the strut and hit Torre.
Ausdrill subsidiary BTP pleaded guilty to the charge under the Mines and Safety Inspection Act 1994 of causing the death of Torre by its failure to provide a safe working environment.
Chaplyn said the company implemented a number of procedural changes to prevent similar incidents from occurring.
“Unfortunately these changes were too late to prevent the tragic death of Mr Torre and provide little comfort to his family, friends and coworkers,” he said.
“It is a tragic reminder of what can happen when safety isn’t given the priority it deserves.
“Every worker should be entitled to return home safely to their family and friends at the end of a shift or swing.”
Chaplyn acknowledged the length of time it had taken to investigate and prosecute the case.
“This has been a long process and has undoubtedly impacted Mr Torre’s family, friends and coworkers,” he said.
“I hope that the court’s decision can bring some degree of closure.”
Ausdrill managing director Ron Sayers said the company had been deeply affected by Torre's death.
“No words can adequately express our sympathy for Mr Torre’s family for their loss," he said.
“We have taken full responsibility for the company’s actions in relation to this accident, with our subsidiary pleading guilty to the charges brought under the Mines Safety and Inspection Act."
Sayers said Ausdrill provided support to Torre’s family following the accident.
“As a direct consequence of this incident, the company carried out an in-depth review and analysis which resulted in the implementation of a range of improvements to our operating procedures," he said.
“Our aim is always to ensure all our people get safely home to their families at the end of every shift, and to this end we are constantly working to improve safety across every facet of our operations.”
