Workers can be exposed to risks that may lead to musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSDs), but what are they and what factors increase their likelihood? Continue →
Despite the slide being operated by another party, a council has been sentenced for its part in failing to keep people safe when it collapsed
Thames Coromandel District Council authorised JTK Trustee Limited to operate the giant inflatable slide at the Whangamatā Summer Festival in December 2020. Continue →
A business which didn’t properly safeguard its machinery has been sentenced over two incidents, six months apart, in which workers had their hands disfigured
West Auckland bakery Bakeworks Limited, which makes gluten-free products, was sentenced in Waitakere District Court for health and safety failures related to both incidents. Continue →
A Bay of Plenty business with an undocumented and ineffective health and safety process has been sentenced after a raised skip bin fell on a worker and inflicted a severe brain injury
The victim, now 52 years old, was emptying the skip bin when it fell on his head and shoulders in March 2021. Continue →
Inadequate training and supervision contributed to the death of a forestry technician in northern Hawke’s Bay, WorkSafe finds
The technician was repairing a mechanical attachment, known as a harvester head, when the device was activated by being manually spun. Continue →
WorkSafe is again urging vigilance on the risks of exposed machinery, in light of a steel fabrication worker suffering a significant injury on the job in Northland
The employer, Donovan Group NZ Limited, has been sentenced in the Whangārei District Court for its health and safety failings in June last year. Continue →
Subcontractors are entitled to health and safety too and deserve better, WorkSafe says
A Canterbury business, Dan’s Renovations, has been sentenced for health and safety failings over the death of a subcontractor in February 2021. Continue →
A Manawatū factory worker’s death underscores the importance of carrying out a dedicated risk assessment before modifying machinery in a workplace
Dwayne Summers died after being trapped and crushed, while using a meal bagging machine at Kakariki Proteins Limited in April 2021. Continue →
A business has been prosecuted for failing to play its part before a worker suffered significant injuries on the job in a fall from height
The 54-year-old worker was replacing a roof at Auckland’s Glenfield Intermediate School in mid-January 2020. Continue →
Worksafe New Zealand has accepted an enforceable undertaking in hopes that it will improve site safety
60-year-old truck driver Gratten Layne was standing at the rear of his truck, when he was struck and killed by a loader driven by another worker at the Hampton Downs landfill in March 2020. Continue →
WorkSafe New Zealand is underscoring the dangers of skylights, after a 14-year-old roofer was seriously injured
The teenager fell eight metres through a skylight and directly onto a concrete floor while working for Ironhide Roofing Limited, which has today been sentenced in the Napier District Court. Continue →
Since the start of last year, at least two workers have died in construction every month and just over one worker per day has been seriously injured
WorkSafe NZ, Construction Health and Safety NZ (CHASNZ) and the Council of Trade Unions (CTU) are calling for a renewed focus on construction health and safety after a number of serious incidents recently. Continue →
The latest incident sent a dozen people, most of whom were children, falling from heights of up to 12 metres
Children have again been put in extreme danger by the operators of an inflatable slide who showed little regard for health and safety. Continue →
The death of a nine-year-old girl in a Northland traffic crash has been traced back to a badly worn down towball and coupling on a trailer used by a local trucking business
The trailer’s safety chain failed, disconnecting it from the truck towing it in October 2020. Continue →
An Auckland businessman is being held liable for failures that led to the death of a subcontractor, who fell from the roof of a house while spray painting
Hon Sang Cheuk was the sole director of DMJ Painters Limited, which hired the painter for the job at Bucklands Beach in June 2020. Continue →
Two serious incidents occurred within a month of each other when the electrical workers involved performed the test improperly
The first incident occurred when a live polarity test was used to test the connection of a newly installed mains cable and mains entry box. Continue →
You may have very competent staff and thorough procedures onsite in daylight hours, but many businesses have cleaners or other contractors coming in after hours for maintenance, WorkSafe area investigation manager Paul West says
The early morning death of a Taranaki cleaner is a lesson in 24-hour health and safety. Continue →
Though management were unaware of their machine’s health and safety risks, the company was fined $200,000 over the incident
Mainland Poultry Limited was sentenced in the Papakura District Court after a worker’s thumb was severed in October 2020. Continue →
Two companies have avoided prosecution after traffic management health and safety failures caused the death of a cyclist, but have committed to an enforceable undertaking to ensure it does not happen again
On 30 October 2019 Fyfa Campbell Dawson was cycling to work with her route taking her past a construction site on a temporary section of Springs Road associated with work on the new Christchurch Southern Motorway extension. Continue →
Health and safety practices at ports will be investigated as part of range of actions being taken in response to two deaths in the sector in the space of a week
Recently we have seen a disproportionate number of injuries and fatalities in the port industry, Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety Michael Wood says. Continue →