The Scissor Lift on the Sloping Slab
You are a labourer on a three-storey residential build in western Sydney. At 7:40 am the site supervisor tells you to take the electric scissor lift onto the suspended concrete slab of level 2 to reach a ceiling bulkhead. The slab has a visible fall towards two drainage outlets, and there is a 40 mm step-down at the edge where formwork was stripped. The lift's manual states a maximum slope of 2 degrees and requires outriggers on any surface with a fall greater than 1.5 degrees. The supervisor says the job is urgent, the concrete pump arrives at 9 am, and 'everyone uses it up there, it's fine'. You have not operated this model before, though you hold a current WP ticket. There is no spotter available and the floor edge has no guardrail on the eastern side.
1. Should you operate the lift as directed? Identify the specific hazards and the controls that would be needed before the task could proceed.
Read the worked answer
No. The instruction conflicts with the plant's own operating limits, and a WP ticket does not authorise you to exceed them.
Hazards identified
- Slope/fall on the slab: the manual caps use at 2 degrees and requires outriggers above 1.5 degrees; the visible fall toward the outlets means the surface may exceed the limit, and you cannot verify it by eye. A scissor lift on a slope can tip or its wheels can lose traction during elevation.
- 40 mm step-down: a sudden edge under a wheel can cause loss of stability, jolt a raised platform, or tip the machine as it transitions.
- Unprotected eastern edge: no guardrail means the lift could travel or be pushed toward a fall edge, and there is no physical barrier to stop it.
- Familiarity: you have never operated this model. The ticket covers the class of plant, not the specific machine's controls, load chart and stability characteristics.
- No spotter: nobody is watching the edge, the slope or the travel path while you concentrate on the platform.
Controls needed before work starts
- Measure the actual slope with a digital level and compare it to the manufacturer's limit; if it exceeds 1.5 degrees, set outriggers as specified or relocate the work.
- Treat the 40 mm step as a barrier: ramp it, plate it, or keep the lift clear of that zone and use a different access method such as a mobile scaffold.
- Install edge protection or a physical stop on the eastern side so the plant cannot reach the fall edge.
- Provide a trained spotter/operator familiar with this model, and complete a familiarisation on the specific machine.
- Reassess with a documented risk assessment and SWMS for the task, and confirm the slab's design load can take the lift plus personnel.
Until those controls exist, the safe answer is to stop, raise it with the supervisor in writing, and escalate to the PCBU if the pressure continues. 'Everyone does it' is not a control; it is evidence of an uncontrolled risk.
2. The supervisor insists and says refusing is insubordination. What are your rights and obligations under the NSW WHS framework, and what should you do next?
Read the worked answer
Your rights
- Under the NSW Work Health and Safety Act 2011, a worker has the right to cease work if you have a reasonable concern that carrying out the work would expose you to a serious risk to health or safety emanating from an immediate or imminent exposure to a hazard. You must notify the person conducting the business or undertaking (PCBU) as soon as practicable.
- You have the right to be consulted about health and safety matters, to raise concerns, and to be protected from discriminatory or adverse action for exercising a safety role.
- You can request the involvement of a health and safety representative (HSR), who can issue a provisional improvement notice or direct that work cease in the relevant circumstances.
Your obligations
- Take reasonable care for your own health and safety and that of others, follow reasonable instructions, and use controls as directed - but only lawful and reasonable ones. An instruction to exceed a manufacturer's limit is not a reasonable instruction.
- Report the hazard and the refusal through the site's reporting process so it is documented.
What to do next
- State the concern plainly and specifically: the slope, the step, the missing edge protection, the manual's limits. Put it in writing (email or site diary) so there is a record.
- Do not operate the lift. Offer an alternative: mobile scaffold, EWP from ground level, or waiting for the slab to be made compliant.
- Escalate to the HSR, the site safety officer, or the principal contractor's safety manager. If unresolved, contact SafeWork NSW.
- If the PCBU pressures or penalises you for refusing, that may be adverse action and should be reported.
Refusing an unsafe task is not insubordination; it is the conduct the Act expects.