Bakery forced to boost safety measures after customer hit by semi-trailer

A commercial bakery in Canberra has been ordered to spend more than $140,000 on an overhaul of its safety procedures after a customer was hit by a semi-trailer as she picked up stale bread.

Prosecutors dropped their work safety case against Buttercup Bakery in the ACT Industrial Court last month. 

The bakery, owned by Quality Bakers Australia Pty Ltd, has instead entered into an enforceable agreement with WorkSafe ACT to improve safety practices at its Fyshwick depot. 

Customer Julie Arbalis was struck by the reversing semi-trailer as she queued to collect stale loaves of bread for stock feed in December 2012. 

The vehicle pushed her back onto her parked car and caused her to fall forward onto the concrete.

She was taken to hospital and treated for a dislocated knee.

The truck driver, who worked for a different company, got out to help her.

WorkSafe ACT obtained CCTV footage as part of its investigations into the incident.

A case was then brought before the court and Quality Bakers was criminally prosecuted for breaching work safety laws.

It was alleged that the bakery failed to put up signs to stop people parking on the concrete and to provide a designated parking area for people waiting to use the loading dock. 

Quality Bakers owed a safety duty to all persons using the dock during business hours, prosecutors said.

The company also allegedly failed to appoint a supervisor to watch over the activities at the dock area. 

Prosecutors withdrew the charge from the court in June. 

Instead, the court heard Quality Bakers would be subject to an enforceable undertaking, a legally binding agreement with WorkSafe ACT to improve its safety practices and policies. 

Details of that undertaking included 11 actions that were outlined in a notice published on Monday.

The business was ordered to provide bolstered workplace training with a focus on traffic management and to develop an extra truck turning area with pedestrian access.

It must also organise a Family Day focussed on safety awareness at the site and make donations to charities Soldier On and Open Family Australia under the agreement.

The notice said the measures would cost an estimated $140,714 to implement. 

Quality Bakers would also be required to undertake a third-party audit of its management system to ensure compliance.

It noted Quality Bakers put in place more than $366,000 worth of safety improvements before it entered into the agreement.

New Zealand company Goodman Fielder, owner of Quality Bakers, was unavailable for comment on Monday.