In brief

  • The problem: NSW workers continue to be crushed by falling and suspended loads. In April 2026 a worker died when about 300 kilograms of glass panels fell from a truck rack.
  • The requirement: SafeWork NSW expects exclusion zones around suspended and unsecured loads, no work under suspended loads, and documented pre-start checks on cranes.
  • The gap: exclusion zones are usually painted lines and signs, which rely on people noticing and obeying them while a lift is under way.
  • The outcome: Flagman overhead crane safety and restricted zone detection alerts people the moment they enter a lift zone, records every breach, and can stop crane motion where the crane’s controls allow.

A fabrication shop in western Sydney runs its overhead crane forty times a shift. The exclusion zone is painted on the floor. Most of the time it works. Then a forklift driver cuts across the bay to save a minute, or a fitter steps in to steady a swinging load, and the zone exists only on paper.

Recent SafeWork NSW incident releases show how quickly that gap turns into serious harm. This article looks at what has happened in NSW workplaces, what the regulator now expects, and where AI safety cameras can make a practical difference under the hook.

The problem: falling and suspended loads in NSW workplaces

SafeWork NSW has published two serious glass handling incidents this year. On 11 March 2026, a worker removed a restraint strap while glass panels were being unloaded from a shipping container with a mobile crane. The pallet became unstable and collapsed, causing serious crush injuries. On 20 April 2026, panels being removed by hand from a rack on a flatbed truck fell, and about 300 kilograms of glass landed on a worker standing on the ground. The worker died.

Equipment failure adds a second risk. In March 2024, a 10 tonne bridge crane collapsed in a NSW workshop while two workers were flipping front-end loader buckets. A bucket of about 7 tonnes fell with the crane. Nobody was injured, but only because nobody was underneath.

These are not isolated cases. SafeWork NSW reports that 61 NSW worker fatalities between 2003 and 2023 resulted from being trapped by moving machinery or equipment. In its July 2025 statewide inspection blitz, SafeWork NSW issued 506 notices, and 285 of them related to unsafe operation of moving plant, vehicles and fixed machinery, including cranes and conveyors.

The requirement: what SafeWork NSW expects

Across these incident releases, SafeWork NSW recommends a consistent set of controls for overhead crane safety and load handling:

  • Set up and enforce exclusion zones around cranes, suspended loads and unsecured panels.
  • Never work on or under a suspended load.
  • Keep the crane travel path clear.
  • Calculate load weight, conduct a test lift and do not exceed rated capacity.
  • Carry out pre-start and operational checks on the crane, and inspect slings before and after use.
  • Provide training, competent supervision and high risk work licences where required.

These sit within the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2017 and the Code of Practice for managing the risks of plant in the workplace. The duty is to eliminate the risk where reasonably practicable and otherwise minimise it, starting with the hierarchy of controls.

Why existing controls leave a gap

An exclusion zone is an administrative control unless something enforces it. Painted lines fade. Signs become background. Spotters are pulled away to other tasks. Crane operators in a busy bay cannot watch the hook, the load and every walkway at once.

The second gap is evidence. When a person steps under a load and nothing happens, the near miss is rarely reported. The site has no record that its exclusion zone is failing until someone is hurt. Our article on turning close calls into safety data covers why that missing information matters.

The third gap is plant condition. The bridge crane collapse is a reminder that pre-start checks and maintenance records are safety controls, not paperwork. A crane, sling or hoist that is degrading gives warning signs long before it fails, but only if someone is tracking them.

The solution: how Flagman enforces lift and load exclusion zones

Flagman is an AI vision platform that adds detection and early warning to existing controls. For crane and load handling it works as follows:

  • Overhead crane human detection: cameras watch the area under and around the load, and Flagman alerts when a person is detected in the danger zone while the crane is operating.
  • Restricted zone detection: virtual zones are drawn around lift areas, laydown bays, glass racks and unloading points, so people entering are detected without wearing a tag.
  • Local alerts: sirens, beacons and voice alerts warn both the person in the zone and the crane operator.
  • Machine response where controls allow: relay outputs and programmable logic controller integration over Modbus and PROFINET can send a slow or stop signal to crane travel or hoist motion, where the crane’s control system accepts an external signal.
  • Edge processing: video is processed on site by the Flagman Neo device, without relying on cloud connectivity.
  • Evidence: every breach is logged with time-stamped video, so supervisors can see which bays, shifts and tasks generate the most exclusion zone breaches.

Limitations: what Flagman does not replace

Flagman does not replace crane inspections, rated capacity limits, competent dogging and rigging, physical barriers or safe work method statements. It does not hold a published safety integrity level or performance level rating and is not a certified safety function. Camera coverage depends on line of sight, mounting height and lighting, so each lift zone must be assessed. It should be introduced after a risk assessment, with consultation with workers and health and safety representatives, and its alerts should be verified regularly.

A practical plan for crane and load safety

  1. List every lifting and load handling task, including truck and container unloading.
  2. Mark exclusion zones for each task and remove any work that requires people under loads.
  3. Digitise crane pre-start checks and sling inspections so defects are visible, not filed.
  4. Review maintenance history for cranes, hoists and lifting gear and set inspection intervals by use and condition.
  5. Trial Flagman restricted zone detection in the highest-risk bay, with agreed measures.
  6. Review breaches weekly with crane operators and supervisors, and adjust work methods.

From reactive repairs to predictive maintenance

Most NSW manufacturers still maintain cranes and lifting gear on a fixed schedule or after a fault. The bridge crane collapse shows the cost of waiting. A predictive approach uses inspection findings, defect reports, load history and downtime records to spot deterioration early and act before failure.

That is where safety and operational data meet. Sharktech Global builds Business Intelligence dashboards for manufacturers that bring together downtime reasons, maintenance records and safety events by machine, including Flagman alerts. A crane bay that shows rising exclusion zone breaches and recurring hoist defects is a bay that needs attention now, not after the next incident.

Flagman in Australia: local delivery by Sharktech Global

Sharktech Global is an Australian technology company based in Liverpool, New South Wales, and the exclusive Australian and New Zealand delivery partner for Perleybrook Labs, the developer of Flagman. Sharktech assesses sites, installs and integrates Flagman with cameras and machine controls, and provides local business-hours support. It is onboarding founding sites in New South Wales. Details of its manufacturing machine safety, managed IT and data services are on the Sharktech website.

The outcome you can measure

  • Alerts the moment a person enters a lift or load zone.
  • A count of exclusion zone breaches by bay, shift and task, tracked month by month.
  • Time-stamped video evidence for investigations, toolbox talks and boards.
  • Crane and lifting gear defects visible alongside safety events, supporting earlier maintenance decisions.

Key takeaways

  • Recent NSW incidents show falling and suspended loads remain a serious and fatal risk.
  • SafeWork NSW expects enforced exclusion zones, no work under loads and documented crane checks.
  • Painted zones and signs alone do not tell you when they are being ignored.
  • Flagman adds detection, alerts and evidence, and maintenance data shows when plant is heading towards failure.

Next step

Request a Flagman safety assessment to map your crane and load handling zones, or call Sharktech Global on 0468 017 373.

See also: Machine Guards Get Bypassed: How Flagman AI Vision Protects the Hands That Run the Line.

Sources: SafeWork NSW, manufacturing incident information releases (falling glass panels, April 2026; bridge crane collapse, March 2024); SafeWork NSW, Technologies for mobile plant (May 2026); NSW Government, SafeWork NSW statewide blitz (July 2025); SafeWork NSW, Code of Practice: Managing the risks of plant in the workplace. This article is general information only and is not legal advice.