Details of the incident
14. On 20 January 2007 the rail crane had been used at the incident site to assist another crane supplied by Gillespie Cranes to lift a class 422 locomotive that had derailed.
15. On the morning of 21 January 2007 Mohamad Elwazze, Engineering Operator Class 5, Antony Limonelli, Engineering Operator Class 5, Patrick Donoghue, Leading Hand, and Ross Seghers, Incident Manager, were at the incident site for the task of packing away the rail crane.
16. The process of packing the rail crane included moving three counterweights onto a match wagon, and one counterweight onto the carriage of the crane.
17. While there was a safe work method statement for operating the rail crane, no specific documented risk assessment was undertaken that considered the risks associated with packing up the rail crane on that particular day on that rail track.
18. Mr Elwazze had limited experience operating the rail crane due to the small number of recovery operations performed with the rail crane since commissioning. Mr Seghers decided that Mr Elwazze should operate the crane that day rather than the more experienced operator, Mr Limonelli, because Mr Elwazze was a crane operator and to give him more experience.
19. The first counterweight was placed on the rear of the crane by slewing to the right side of the crane. The jib was slewed back along the right side of the crane to its original position. The next three counterweights were lifted onto an intermediate position on the match wagon using the jib. Those three counterweights were then lifted onto a stowage position on the match wagon and secured. The jib was brought back to its original position. In each case the rail crane was located away from the cantered track.
20. Either before moving any counterweights, or at least before moving the last counterweight, the outrigger props on the rail crane were stowed.
21. Before the fourth counterweight was raised the rail crane was moved onto a section of the track closer to where the derailed locomotive had been located, that had been damaged as a result of the derailment of the locomotive. This was because the operators needed to come closer to the original derailment site to pick up outrigger timber. At the point to which the rail crane was relocated one track was higher than the other, a situation that is known as a 'superelevated track'. In this position there was an increased risk that the crane would tip over.
22. No documented risk assessment was undertaken that recorded additional risks that arose from the rail crane being positioned and operated on the superelevated track and the steps to be taken to address such risks.
23. After the rail cane had been repositioned onto the superelevated track Mr Elwazze was instructed to operate the jib of the crane to move the fourth counterweight from the rear of the crane to the match wagon. The jib was slewed to the right to pick up the fourth counterweight. The fourth counterweight was then lifted and Mr Elwazze began to slew to the right hand side of the crane. Mr Seghers was concerned that the jib of the crane would touch the overhead wires if it were slewed to the right side of the crane in this new position. No formal risk assessment was carried out for the movement of the jib to the left side of the crane. Mr Seghers instructed Mr Elwazze to move the fourth counterweight along the left side of the crane. Mr Elwazze stopped the crane and said to Mr Seghers that slewing to the left side of the crane was dangerous and could not be done. Mr Seghers said to Mr Elwazze that he should slew to the left side of the crane, that Mr Seghers would watch Mr Elwazze and if anything happened, Mr Seghers would stop Mr Elwazze. Before issuing this instruction RailCorp staff did not re-assess what mode the crane was in for the lift of the fourth counterweight, nor re-consider the crane's stability while positioned on the superelevated tracks.
24. The rail crane at this point was in the 'in train' mode with the outrigger props stowed.
25. Mr Elwazze slewed the jib to the left hand side of the crane as instructed placing the counterweight on the left side. The rail crane started to tip and then fell onto the ground coming to a rest on its side.
26. Mr Elwazze remained trapped in the operator's cabin for over an hour until released by emergency services. He suffered swelling to his right hand, scars on his upper left arm, cuts and scratches on his left leg and his left little finger suffers ongoing numbness. Mr Elwazze was hospitalised for four days. Mr Elwazze returned to his duties approximately 9 weeks after the incident.
27. By operating the rail crane whilst in the 'in train' mode the self-levelling function did not operate, nor did the SLI warning system operate. If the crane had been operated with the outrigger props in place in 'propped' mode, the crane would not have tipped over. Alternatively, if the crane had been placed in 'free on rail' mode, without the outrigger props stowed, the self-levelling function would have reduced the risk of the crane tipping over and the SLI warning system should have warned the operator before it tipped over.
28. Mr Elwazze was not given sufficient training as to how the rail crane was to be operated safely while positioned on superelevated track.
29. On the relevant day Mr Seghers gave Mr Elwazze instructions as to the direction to slew the Cowan Boyd rail mounted crane in circumstances where Mr Seghers did not hold a certificate of competency to operate and dismantle the crane.
Changes to the system of work after the incident
30. After the incident RailCorp's solicitors engaged Conder Management Services ('CMS') to undertake an investigation into the incident. CMS prepared a report for RailCorp on 12 June 2007. That report was provided to WorkCover.
31. At around the time of the incident, RailCorp was implementing its improved Safety Management System (SMS), in particular including the consideration of safety related matters in the procurement of plant.
32. RailCorp determined following the incident that whenever a rail mounted crane is required RailCorp would procure the services of an external third party. RailCorp does not intend to use the Cowan Boyd rail mounted crane, the subject of the incident, in the future.
8 Also tendered by the prosecution were:
(a) three factual inspection reports of Inspector Morgenthal, each dated 25 June 2007. The first report detailed observations made on 22 June 2007;
(b) the second report detailed observations made on 23 January 2007;
(c) the third report detailed observations made on 2 February 2007.
(d) 20 colour photographs taken by Inspector Morgenthal on 22 January 2007;
(e) 15 colour photographs taken by Inspector Morgenthal on 23 January 2007;
(f) a prior conviction certificate for the defendant recording a conviction on 7 October 2008.
Evidence for the defendant
9 Mr P Kite SC, who appeared for the defendant, read affidavits of Douglas Higgins, Chief Engineer, Rollingstock, Engineering & Planning, Asset Management Group and Clare Louise Kitcher, Group General Manager, Safety and Environment. Neither was required for cross-examination.
10 Mr Higgins has held the position of Chief Engineer, Rollingstock, since February 2008. Prior to then, he held the position of Manager, Maintenance Operations. His evidence included the following:
(i) Asset Management Group currently has approximately 4,200 employees who are responsible for developing and maintaining RailCorp's infrastructure such as rolling stock, track, signals, overhead wiring, communications and control systems, structures, major projects, associated capital works and strategic asset management;
(ii) the Rolling Stock Division's primary function is the maintenance of the defendant's passenger rolling stock fleet and incident recovery. At the date of the incident approximately 800 people were employed in this division.;
(iii) the RailCorp Emergency Train Recovery Unit is part of the Rollingstock division. The Unit attends major and minor rail based incidents, such as collisions, derailments, and major technical failures on rolling stock that could interfere with train operations. At the date of the incident, eight employees were employed within the Unit. There are no contractors or labour hire workers presently engaged in the Unit;
(iv) at the time of the incident, the Unit's equipment included the Cowan Boyd rail mounted crane, which was involved in the incident, jacking equipment, and other general train recovery equipment;
(v) that he had responsibility for occupational health and safety ("OHS") across the Maintenance Operations sub-division. In addition, the defendant employs a dedicated corporate safety group which is led by Ms Kitcher;
(vi) that he had attended the site shortly after the incident. He expressed his deep regret and said the defendant no longer uses the Cowan Boyd rail mounted crane. He said the defendant is committed to ensuring that other safety incidents of this nature, or at all, do not occur in the future.
(vii) Mr Elwazze has worked within the Unit for approximately 15 years and has been employed by the defendant since 1980;
(viii) prior to the incident, Mr Elwazze has completed several formal training courses in relation to the safe operation of types of plant and safe work systems. He was also qualified as a train driver, crane chaser and a forklift driver. Mr Elwazze had received instruction and training in the operational and safety procedures for the crane;
(ix) the Cowan Boyd rail mounted crane was a special purpose "wrecking" crane especially designed to be used in rail "wreck" recovery operations;
(x) discussions took place to determine the appropriate time and day to undertake the recovery operation of the derailed locomotive. It was scheduled to occur on the weekend to allow RETRU staff time to inspect the site, prepare for the lift, and to allow more time to perform the recovery, without the weekday pressures and ensuring minimal disruptions to passenger services. A site inspection was undertaken on or about 18 January 2007 by Mr Craig Stanfield, Regional Manager. Mr Higgins also undertook a site inspection with Mr Seghers, the Incident Manager of the RETRU. An initial risk assessment was undertaken. It was noted that the track was super elevated near the derailed locomotive. Consideration was given if this would prevent the crane from being used, or present a problem with its use. It was considered that the crane's self levelling system would control the risk. Prior to the recovery on 20 January 2007, the RETRU gang attended the site on approximately three occasions to inspect the derailed locomotive and the site conditions. On 20 January 2007, the RETRU successfully recovered the derailed locomotive;
(xi) having successfully completed the recovery of the locomotive, the defendant's crew were packing up the Cowan Boyd rail mounted crane on 21 January 2007 when the incident occurred. Mr Elwazze was operating the crane;
(xii) at the time of the incident, the defendant was in the implementation phase of transitioning to a new RailCorp safety manual system ("SMS"). Prior to this system, a safety handbook for passenger fleet maintenance was in operation;
(xiii) in accordance with the SMS prior to the recovery operation, the crane underwent a comprehensive inspection at the lift shop. A pre-start checklist for the crane was annexed to the affidavit. A pre-work briefing was presented by the Safety Facilitator Team Leader and a DVD training program shown to the employees. Work tasks were discussed by the team for the recovery operation and weather forecasts noted. The Rail Commander gave an on-site briefing on 20 January 2007 regarding issues associated with working in the rail corridor. This was documented in a "Protection Plan" signed by those in attendance and annexed to the affidavit. The "Protection Plan" identified the risks in undertaking the re-railing of the locomotive. Two SWMS for crane use in recovery operations were in place at the time of the incident. Another OHS system that was in place at the time of the incident was a RETRU procedure statement entitled "SettingUp/Working the Rail Crane on a Derailment/Worksite". This procedure was annexed to the affidavit. It included instructions for preparing the crane for in-train running (the packing up stage), retracting the outriggers and stowing the jib on the match wagon. The operating manual for the Cowan Boyd rail recovery train was also in place. This manual was annexed to the affidavit and included instructions in respect of preparing the crane for "in train" running;
(xiv) a formal pre-work briefing was not undertaken on this occasion, nor was a risk assessment documented after Mr Donoghue, the Leading Hand and Mr Seghers inspected the worksite on 20 January 2007;
(xv) following the incident, the defendant implemented a number of changes as follows:
a) Mr Ian Moir, the Corporate Safety manager, attended the site to assist with the incident investigation;
b) the defendant arranged for a counsellor to attend the site and be available to the employees;
c) the pack up of the Cowan Boyd rail mounted crane was suspended on the day of the incident. Gillespie Cranes were subsequently engaged to attend to the recovery of the crane;
d) the Cowan Boyd rail mounted crane remains suspended from use and stored at Chullora;
e) a review into the incident was conducted by Mr Rocky Condello of Conder Management Services, an independent consultancy firm;
f) arising from the Condello Review, the defendant accepts that it failed at the time it procured the crane to fully understand the inherent risks in the design of the crane and its operation and how to effectively control those risks;
g) the defendant acknowledged that Mr Elwazze operated the crane using a trained operating position that did not allow the crane to self level, causing the crane to overbalance when the crane's centre of gravity extended beyond its outermost footing;
h) the defendant acknowledged that the crane had previously been operated this way. The Condello Review suggested that the procedures in place, including the manufacturer's operating manual, were not clear on this issue;
i) the defendant acknowledged that it failed to identify that there was a latent deficiency in the applicable safe work procedures and in the operator's understanding of how the crane should be operated;
j) the defendant invited Mr Condello to give a briefing on his review to all employees of the RETRU and discussions took place between the employees, managers from the defendant and safety personnel.
(xvi) during Mr Elwazze's stay in hospital, he was visited by members of the RETRU. The defendant put in place a return to work plan and an injury management plan to assist his return to full duties. He was also provided with psychological counselling and physiotherapy at the defendant's expense. Mr Elwazze continues to work for RailCorp in the RETRU;
(xvii) one of the defendant's key occupational health and safety philosophies is "A SAFE RAILWAY, A SAFE WORKPLACE, A SAFE CULTURE." Since the incident, significant steps have been taken to improve safety management systems across the Rolling Stock divisions. These include:
a) a Safety Change Assessment and Reporting Determination ("SCARD") procedure. This procedure identifies issues and would have identified the latent deficiency in the defendant's understanding of the Cowan Boyd crane;
b) the SCARD process determines whether the proposed new equipment will introduce a minor or significant safety risk change. The SCARD may identify safety hazards relating to new equipment which may lead to the equipment not being purchased;
c) a dedicated Maintenance Operations Safety Facilitator was appointed in November 2007. The Safety Facilitator is responsible for implementing SMS programs and protocols, developing and implementing business plans for ensuring safety improvement across the Rolling Stock division;
d) a dedicated Maintenance Operations Quality and Compliance Officer was appointed in February 2007. The officer is responsible for ensuring that obligations arising from legislation, corporate policies or business unit codes of practice are registered within Maintenance Operations. Both the facilitator and the officer have responsibility for conducting workplace and procedural audits.
(xviii) the defendant also has a number of safety committees. The Flemington Safety Committee meets approximately monthly and is attended by an elected member of the RETRU. There is also a Peak Safety Meeting held once a month which considers safety issues across the division. At the time of the incident, there had been no lost time injuries within the RETRU for the previous two years;
(xix) Maintenance Operations Hazard Review Meetings take place approximately once a month and provide a forum to consider current hazards and determine whether the SWMS or SWI's are appropriate and working. These meetings were introduced in March 2006;
(xx) the defendant also has an incident reporting telephone hotline which allows employees to report any injury. Calls are recorded in a database which is monitored by the Division Safety Facilitator. Procedures for reporting a hazard are also displayed on safety notice boards which explain what employees need to do if they identify a workplace hazard;
(xxi) monthly team briefs are held within the Rolling Stock Division. At these meetings, managers report on a number of safety related matters, including if there are any outstanding safety issues. Employees have an opportunity to raise any safety issue. Employees also have access to the defendant's dedicated Safety Intranet;
(xxii) all new employees are required to participate in a week long induction. Once employment commences, Rolling Stock Division employees receive training in accordance with the requirements of the defendant's SMS;
(xxiii) audits of compliance with SMS are regularly conducted within the Rolling Stock Division. These are undertaken by Mr Higgins and provided to the General Manager, Line Managers and Front Line Managers. The last audit was in November 2008;
(xxiv) the defendant holds an annual Safety Conference at the Convention Centre in Darling Harbour. The conference is open to all employees to attend and is always attended by members of the Rolling Stock Division. Topics often include new safety initiatives, and presentations from injured workers and legal representatives. Safety competitions are held once a year within the defendant. In 2008, a RETRU specific Safety Competition was held.
11 Ms Kitcher is the Group General Manager, Safety & Environment of the defendant. Her evidence included the following:
(i) the defendant employs approximately 13,800 people across two registered business: CityRail and CountryLink;
(ii) CitiRail's operations include:
a) a fleet of approximately 1,644 carriages running on 2,100 kilometres of track;
b) approximately 2,418 weekday passenger services and 1,692 daily/weekend services;
c) carrying approximately 500,000 customers on 950,000 passenger journeys per weekday to and from over 300 stations;
d) a patronage increase of 5.2 per cent to approximately 296 million passenger journeys in 2007/2008 financial year.
(iii) CountryLink's operations involve:
a) a fleet of 60 XPT carriages, 19 power cars and 23 Xplorer carriages;
b) approximately 144 weekly rail services;
c) approximately 560 weekly Road Coach Services to 363 destinations;
d) approximately 1.6 million passenger journeys in the financial 2007/2008 financial year.
(iv) the defendant holds a common set of values that provide a framework for its operations. The first of those values is "safety first". A poster highlighting this and other values was annexed to the affidavit;
(v) the defendant has in place a Safety Strategic Plan that sets its strategic direction for safety and the actions it proposes to take to further that direction over a five year time period. A copy of the plan was attached to the affidavit under the heading "Where We are Going". The defendant's safety vision was described as "A safe railway, a safe workplace; a safe culture. How we get there? The plan outlined four fundamental approaches for the improvement of safety. These included creating a strong, risk aware safety culture, from the Board to the workplace, learning lessons from accidents and incidents across the rail and other industries to continually strengthen expertise, systems and performance and constantly reassessing safety and risk performance;
(vi) the defendant also has a safety policy. Its purpose is to have a culture characterised by a commitment to its safety vision, safe behaviours and practices and continual improvement; a climate in which people are willing to report safety risks, incidents and near misses; an atmosphere of trust in which people are encouraged and rewarded for communicated essential safety-related information and a willingness and competency to draw constructive conclusions from safety accidents and incidents, and implement reforms when required;
(vii) the foundation of the defendant's safety policy was summarised by these principles:
a) good safety performance, planning, training, consultation, supervision and accountability;
b) risks are identified and either eliminated or effectively managed;
c) all requirements of OHS and rail safety legislation are met;
d) we are all responsible for safety;
e) all injuries are preventable. A copy of the safety policy was annexed to the affidavit.
(viii) reference was also made by Ms Kitcher to the defendant's RailCorp Safety Management System ("SMS"). The purpose of the SMS is to ensure the effective identification, management and control of safety risks across RailCorp's operations. The defendant has nine key OHS priority areas. These are: Working environment; plant; manual handling; hazardous substances and dangerous goods; hazardous materials; electrical safety; construction and maintenance planning; working at heights and workplace violence;
(ix) In each workplace, as part of the SMS, a workplace risk register is required to be developed and continually maintained. The register is a tool that contains information about risks that need an ongoing control. Line managers of relevant workplaces are responsible for preparing the workplace risk registers in consultation with workplace safety committees and safety representatives. All employees have access to the register for their workplace either in hard copy, electronically by the Intranet, or both
(x) the defendant has safe work method statements ("SWMS") which describe the control measures to be applied to a work activity. They must include job steps, a description of the equipment used in the work, standards or codes to be complied with, the qualifications of the personnel and training required to do the work;
(xi) Safe Work Instructions ("SWIs") are prepared to describe the job steps required for the safe operation of an item of plant or equipment. It is a job specific instruction;
(xii) the defendant has a Working Safely Handbook. This is a booklet developed for employees and contractors which contains an overview of the safety requirements, strategies, systems and processes that the defendant has established. It is provided to all employees, to raise their awareness of safety issues relevant to the work they are undertaking, and to assist employees to contribute to their personal safety while at work. A copy of the handbook was annexed to the affidavit. Key safety category included hazardous rail corridor locations; working outdoors, plant, including specific reference to machine guarding and tool guards, forklift trucks and cranes; excavation;
(xiii) Ms Kitcher described the induction programs provided to employees and training provided by the defendant to ensure the competency of its workforce;
(xiv) the defendant has a sharing safety information policy. This includes "Safety Alert" which is used to communicate to all workers an urgent safety related message. The safety alert is also included in a bulletin "What's News", which is emailed to all staff and posted on noticeboards and attached to the affidavit. One related to the potential for combustion of certain headset batteries and the other was about the risk of electric shock when manipulating a certain control jumper;
(xv) the defendant also has safety notice board(s) placed in all its workplaces to communicate safety information to its employees. The defendant has well over 100 safety practitioners who assist line managers to fulfil their occupational health and safety responsibilities;
(xvi) in December 2005, the defendant implemented a "Safety Knowledge Management System" ("SKMS"). This is a database that houses the defendant's safety risk profile, SMS performance requirements, safety events/incidents and safety actions;
(xvii) the defendant has an extensive program of audits and inspections in place. The prime purpose of the audit program is to verify that the SMS at all levels has been properly implemented and maintained. Audits are systematic, independent and documented. Inspections generally concentrate on evaluating specific items or activities, e.g. piece of plant or safe working activity;
(xviii) contractors are also required to conform to the defendant's SMS and the defendant has implemented several contract specific safety initiatives. In 2008, the defendant commenced implementation of the procurement transformation program. This program included a further revision and improvement of its procurement procedures and methodology;
(xix) Ms Kitcher describes some examples of safety initiatives and programs run by the defendant. These include promoting a "Just Culture". This includes creating an environment that seeks out risk and system improvement through better incident reporting, promoting openness and learning from incidents and a health and fitness program which includes the development of fatigue management arrangements and the development of a robust alcohol and other drugs program. The defendant also has industry involvement where it promotes rail safety principles through Australian Railways. It is a member of the Rail Industry Safety Standards Board ("RISSB"), which has been established to write nationally applicable standards and codes or practice;
(xx) the defendant promotes safety for employees. Examples include the RailCorp Annual Safety Convention, which runs over two days at the Convention Centre, Darling Harbour. The 2006 Convention won that year's National Safety Council of Australia Award for Best Communication of a Safety Message. Approximately 1,500 people attended the 2008 Safety Convention. A copy of the program for the 2008 Convention was annexed;
(xxi) the defendant holds an annual safety competition across the whole of the organisation to promote a safe and healthy organisation or culture. Approximately 850 people attended the competition in 2008;
(xxii) approximately once every two years the defendant organises for the chairpersons of RailCorp's Workplace Safety Committee, a forum aimed at facilitating networking between the Chairpersons and discussion regarding how each Chairperson runs their Committee. Approximately 65 employees attended the forum in 2008. The agenda for the 2008 forum was annexed to the affidavit;
(xxiii) the defendant's lost time injury frequency rate has reduced considerably from 2004/2005 to 2007/2008 from 33.8 days to 21.1 days. 87 of the 88 recommendations of the Waterfall Special Commission of Inquiry into a train derailment at Waterfall have been implemented by the defendant;
(xxiv) the defendant received in 2006, an award for Excellence in Occupational Health and Safety from the National Safety Council of Australia/Telstra National Safety Awards. In 2008, the defendant was short listed for the best implementation of a specific OHS Management System in the National Safety Council of Australia, Safety Awards of Excellence for RailCorp's SMS. It was also short listed for the best Workplace Health & Safety Management System in the WorkCover NSW, Safe Work Awards 2008;
(xxv) the defendant from 2004, has spent in excess of $30,000,000 on dedicated safety initiatives from development of SMS to SMS training, to running safety conventions and other initiatives referred to earlier in these reasons. This figure does not include expenditure on ongoing delivery of safety risk controls such as equipment maintenance and competency training or other operational initiatives or programs which also include a safety component;
(xxvi) the defendant prides itself on being a good corporate citizen and contributing to the community in which it operates. Examples of community projects recently implemented by the defendant include Passenger Rail Safety, Pram Safety Project and a Heatsmart Program which was designed to educate passengers on how to travel safely during the summer months;
(xxvii) the defendant is a committed supporter of numerous charities including the Cancer Council, Westmead Children's Hospital and the Salvation Army.
Relevant Principles
12 The Full Bench in Morrison v Coal Operations Australia Ltd (No 2) (2005) 41 IR 465 succinctly summarised the principles to be applied in determining sentence for an offence under the Act. Their Honours stated at [8] - [15]:
[8] The overall approach to be followed in relation to the determination of sentence is to be found in the first instance within the statutory provisions of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 and in particular, in relation to these proceedings, ss 3A Purposes of Sentencing and 21A Aggravating, mitigating and other factors in sentencing.