Inadequate traffic management plan leads to pedestrian versus forklift incident

A Victorian freight transport business was fined $40,000 this week after a forklift collided with a worker inside one of its warehouses (WorkSafe Victoria v Mainfreight Distribution Pty Limited [2025]).

Incident

Mainfreight Distribution Pty Ltd operates several warehouses. As part of its operations, Mainfreight Distribution employed a floor hand and a store person. The floor hand was responsible for running pallets, picking orders, cleaning the warehouse and repackaging goods, while the store person was involved in general housekeeping tasks. The store person held a high-risk work licence and was permitted to operate forklifts to complete certain tasks, such as loading and unloading bins for cleaning purposes.

In October 2022, the store person was operating the forklift to load boxes into a bin. At the same time, the floor hand was walking behind the forklift towards a nearby aisle; however, he was not using a pedestrian designated walkway at the time. As the store person reversed the forklift towards the floor hand, the floor hand’s boot became trapped in the forklift, causing him to fall forwards and hit his head on the concrete. After temporarily losing consciousness and sensation in his face and legs, he sustained injuries to his nose, leg and left foot.

Judgment

WorkSafe Victoria found that at the time of the incident, Mainfreight Distribution had in place a traffic management plan that identified the direction of truck movement but contained no specifications in relation to the use of powered mobile plant, including forklifts. After the incident, Mainfreight Distribution implemented a number of remedial measures to achieve compliance with improvement notices issued by WorkSafe Victoria.

The Court found that Mainfreight Distribution had failed to:

designate exclusion zones separating forklifts and pedestrians through the use of physical barriers such as bollards or separation barricades; and/or
fit all forklifts in operation at the workplace with halo lights projecting to distance of 3-metre radius and/or pedestrian-sensing equipment.

Mainfreight Distribution was sentenced without conviction to pay a fine of $40,000 and to pay costs of $4,414.

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