Vehicle rollover injures three at White Rock Wind Farm

What happened

Three workers were injured when their utility vehicle rolled 30 metres down an embankment at White Rock Wind Farm on a Monday night in June 2017. Two were taken to hospital. A third was flown to Tamworth Base Hospital with spinal injuries and internal bleeding. The CFMEU said it had previously told Goldwind Australia that hard barriers were needed along service roads at embankments, and that those concerns had not been addressed. The newspaper reported this as the second accident at the wind farm in two months to which a rescue helicopter was tasked.

Contributing factors

The cause was not independently established. The CFMEU said hard barriers were absent along service-road embankments and that earlier warnings to Goldwind Australia had not been acted on. Goldwind Australia had not responded when the article was published.

Lessons learned

1. Utility vehicles on wind farm service roads need hard barriers at embankments to prevent rollovers.
2. Record and close out safety concerns from workers before further vehicle use on site roads.
3. After a vehicle rollover, review road design and barriers before similar work resumes.

More lessons on spacing, layout and fire spread, worker safety and safe systems of work, from every incident on the register.

Not yet known

• Exact cause of the rollover
• Utility vehicle model and age
• Duration of site downtime
• Cost of injuries and repairs

This entry is updated when these are reported. Get an alert for the next one like it.

Source

gleninnesexaminer.com.au