The employer of a woman who was crushed to death by a falling chimney on her first day at a Sydney worksite, did not have a demolition plan, did not provide protective equipment and failed to conduct a risk assessment, a court has found.
WY Constructions Pty Ltd was fined over the incident after pleading guilty in the NSW District Court to breaching work health and safety conditions.
Chinese worker Gui Ying Xie was crushed to death after being instructed to help demolish a chimney at a residential site at Strathfield in Sydney's inner west in December 2017.
She was hit by the crumbling chimney and buried in the debris.
The 48-year-old was not experienced in demolition work and did not have a permit to work in construction.
Neither did the two other workers employed by the company to complete the work.
One of those, Bing Yang, told the court the trio's construction credentials were not checked, and personal protection equipment was not provided.
The company's part owner, Wei Huang Wang, was the only person on site wearing a hard helmet, he said.
Mr Wang did not induct him on the site, did not provide him with any training and did not discuss any safety requirements, Mr Yang said.
Mr Wang, who was supervising the project, admitted he had limited English and had enlisted his teenage son to read demolition approval documents to him.
The company had not conducted a risk assessment, did not notify authorities that demolition had begun and did not have a demolition plan, the court found.
The unqualified trio were left to formulate their own plan to demolish the chimney.
It was agreed that bricks would be removed from the bottom of the chimney and the workers would attempt to push the chimney over by hand.
As it started to fall, two workers were able to run out of its path, however Ms Xie was hit and buried in the rubble.
She was rushed to hospital where she died of blunt force injuries to her chest and neck.
District Court Judge David Russell SC said the risk of being struck and crushed by a collapsed structure should have been obvious to WY Constructions.
"There were several steps that were readily available, which could have been implemented to eliminate or minimise the risk at the time of the incident," he said.
"These measures were not complex, costly or burdensome."
While Mr Wang and WY Constructions showed remorse, the incident resulted in the death of Ms Xie, "a very vulnerable worker", on her first day on site, he said.
WY Constructions, which could have been a fined up to $1.5 million, was ordered to pay the prosecution's costs in addition to a $300,000 fine.
