NZCC Limited, a company that processes and supplies sausage casings, had to pay over $200,000 after a worker’s left hand was trapped between two rollers while they were operating a sausage casing machine with known safety issues WorkSafe’s investigation found that after a similar incident on a sausage casing machine two years earlier, NZCC Ltd engaged an engineer whose two proposed solutions proved to be ineffective. Continue →

A forestry incident which left a young trainee worker unconscious has drawn a sharp rebuke from the health and safety regulator, leading to a $25,000 fine Tree and Forest Limited appeared at the Nelson District Court yesterday and was fined $25,000 following a November 2017 incident in Motueka Valley in which the worker was struck by a felled tree and knocked unconscious. Continue →

Vehicles are the biggest cause of acute harm in any workplace, says WorkSafe, and a recent prosecution resulting in a $150,000 fine has highlighted the need for all companies to ensure their fleets are properly maintained In a reserved decision released by the Tauranga District Court , Sorensen Transport Limited was sentenced after one of its truck’s brakes failed and a worker was injured. Continue →

Homegrown Juice Co Limited was sentenced and fined $367,500 after a worker was fatally injured by a bottle filling machine imported from China that was not certified or compliant with New Zealand standards The worker was cleaning the bottle filling machine in June 2017 when her arm was drawn into the rotating equipment. Continue →

Alto Packaging Limited was fined $250,000 and ordered to pay reparation of $32,500 after a worker’s fingers were caught in a machine and amputated, despite WorkSafe having issued the company several notices in relation to machine guarding since 2014 Following the Octorber 2017 incident, WorkSafe’s investigation found the machine was not adequately safeguarded, which allowed the worker to access counter-rotating rollers in the machine. Continue →

4 Hippos Farm Limited and its director were sentenced after a worker received significant crush injuries and lacerations to his hand while using a wood splitter, who was then told to lie about the incident during WorkSafe’s investigation 4 Hippos Farm Limited was convicted on a Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (HSWA) charge for failing to ensure the wood splitter he was using did not pose a risk of serious injury to the worker. Continue →

The work Downer has completed as part of its enforceable undertaking shows how the process works as a regulatory tool which benefits the victim, the workplace, the sector and the community, says WorkSafe Acting Chief Executive Mike Hargreaves On 12 May 2016, a worker providing services to Downer New Zealand Limited was working on a bridge where he was cutting bolts off the posts from below the bridge using a portable angle grinder. Continue →

When multiple companies are working on site there is a legal requirement that they consult, cooperate and coordinate with each other to ensure the health and safety of everyone. Continue →

Companies cannot be complacent about working from heights, says WorkSafe, after a worker died as a result of injuries sustained in a fall at CentrePort in Wellington CentrePort Limited was sentenced and fined $506,048 at the Wellington District Court today following the January 2017 incident at the company’s container assessment and repair facility. Continue →

Machine guarding failures in the meat processing industry are continuing to cause life-changing injuries to workers How it should be done The Alliance Group Limited was fined $332,000 and paid reparations late last year after an incident where an inexperienced worker’s hand was amputated in a piece of machinery in March 2017. Continue →

A South Island construction company has been ordered to pay fines, reparation and costs of more than $500,000 after an unlicensed worker was crushed and killed when the truck he was driving rolled down a bank In a decision released by the Blenheim District Court, Crafar Crouch Construction (Picton) Limited was ordered to pay a fine of $351,563 and reparations of $177,735 following a fatal incident in June 2017. Continue →

An employer has been fined and sentenced to 60 hours community work for failing to keep a worker safe after he was seriously injured while trimming tree branches next to a powerline In October 2016 a casual worker hired by Bradford John Dibble was trimming branches with an electric saw when a branch fell onto a powerline. Continue →

Two companies have been heavily fined after a worker suffered a significant hand injury while operating a machine used to cut firewood Davies Tree Service Limited employed the worker and MMD Engineering Limited manufactured the machine and both were sentenced at the Christchurch District Court following the June 2017 incident. Continue →

A truck driver was left with a skull fracture and significant head injuries after a farmer’s stock loading ramp fell on him when its winch system failed, something an automatic brake winch system would have prevented WorkSafe says the incident is a reminder that all stock loading ramps should be fitted with an automatic brake winch system to prevent unwinding. Continue →

After a worker’s arm was crushed while removing a decommissioned x-ray machine at Dunedin Hospital, Southern District Health Board and Fire and Mech Contracting Limited were fined heavily for failing to provide  the manufacturer’s instructions The incident occurred in May 2017 when Fire and Mech Contracting Limited asked a worker assisting with removal of the x-ray to help cut a wire rope to clear away the machine. Continue →

Structural steelwork company, Pegasus Engineering Limited, was sentenced at the Christchurch District Court after a heavy steel beam fatally injured a worker The fatal incident took place in June 2017 in Rolleston when a worker was moving steel beams from work trolleys using a crane. Continue →

WorkSafe is urging employers to mitigate any risks before carrying out electrical work, after a worker was left with serious electrical burns to his hands In a decision released by the Invercargill District Court this week, Wallace Murray Electrical Limited was fined $150,000 following the incident, which took place while the worker was replacing a switchboard in October 2017. Continue →

PBT Transport Limited was fined $250,000 following an incident in September 2016 where a worker sustained back injuries, after the freight cage he was working in fell three metres from forklift tines Two similar incidents had occurred at other PBT Transport sites and WorkSafe says PBT Transport should have used these incidents to significantly improve their processes. Continue →

Ten people in the transport, postal and warehousing sector have died at work in the past two years, with transport company Altranz (2008) Ltd being sentenced after an 18 year old worker was fatally injured In June 2017, the worker was assisting in the unloading of shipping containers from a truck when he was crushed by the swinglift, a machine designed for lifting containers on and off the truck. Continue →

A food manufacturing company was sentenced at the Christchurch District Court after a worker had their thumb severed while cleaning a machine used to blend products Wimpex Limited was fined $240,000 following a WorkSafe investigation, which found Wimpex Limited, did not have adequate guarding in place. Continue →