Sometimes the biggest threat to people in a head-on crash is all the things that are behind them and cargo barriers are a good way of preventing an already bad situation from getting much worse Tools went flying when these two vans collided on the outskirts of Hamilton in February though there was no serious injury. Continue →

A North Island wood processing company with 20 previous health and safety convictions over the last two decades has landed in front of the courts yet again, following an incident which saw a worker suffer serious steam burns In July 2017 a worker was replacing a heat probe inside of an enclosed Triboard manufacturing press, when the press was switched on, engulfing him in hot steam. Continue →

Toilet paper manufacturer Cottonsoft Ltd received a sentencing decision in the Manukau District Court after a worker was hurt on inadequately guarded machinery The sentencing followed a January 2017 incident where the worker sustained crush injuries, degloving and lacerations after his arms were caught in rollers. Continue →

Two similar health and safety failings within three months have cost Rotorua timber company Claymark Limited over $680,000 in fines, reparations and costs WorkSafe says that one serious injury on a company’s watch is bad enough, but that a second in close succession shows an unacceptable approach to worker safety. Continue →

WorkSafe New Zealand has accepted an enforceable undertaking from Trojan Holdings Limited The undertaking follows an incident at the Cromwell Transfer Station in June 2017 where a worker fell into the waste hopper and sustained serious injuries. Continue →

Failure to ensure the safety of critical equipment has left one worker dead and another with multiple injuries in two separate incidents An electrical engineering firm was fined $332,060 after a worker harnessed to the top of a 30-metre high temporary transmission tower was injured when it fell to the ground leaving him with multiple injuries. Continue →

Summer is a busy time on the farm, but it’s also among the most hazardous periods for accidents with three fatalities and nearly 550 farmers suffering notable injuries last summer Almost 550 farmers suffered injuries serious enough for them to take at least a week off work over the last summer (December 2017 – February 2018) while there were three fatalities on farms. Continue →

WorkSafe has accepted an enforceable undertaking from engineering and infrastructure company Opus International Consultants Limited following a scaffolding collapse last year Roger Hill The enforceable undertaking was granted following an incident in February 2017, when scaffolding collapsed underneath Auckland’s Panmure Bridge and six workers fell into the water below them. Continue →

Identifying a workplace risk but not following up to ensure it is controlled is bad health and safety business practice according to WorkSafe The comment follows the sentencing of Agility Building Solutions Limited in the Christchurch District Court after a painter was injured in the construction company’s own workplace. Continue →

New Zealand has clearly defined standards for how machinery should be guarded, and WorkSafe says they’re still not being met by too many companies “Too many workers are being seriously injured as a result of substandard guarding,” says WorkSafe’s Head of Specialist Interventions Simon Humphries. Continue →

Unqualified and unsafe asbestos removal has landed a Christchurch builder in the Christchurch District Court Richard John Knight was unlicensed for an asbestos demolition job carried out on a Riccarton building in February 2017. Continue →

Tractors are an integral part of farm businesses, but they have also killed 30 New Zealanders in the last six years WorkSafe is warning farmers that they are legally required to have an effective way of identifying and managing the risks involved in their work on farms – including the risks involved in the use of vehicles. Continue →

The construction industry must take heed of an unexpected spike in serious injuries, says Site Safe Chief Executive Brett Murray Figures released by Statistics NZ revealed there were 72 serious work-related injuries in construction last year, up from just 45 in 2016. Continue →

Rotorua-based logging operator Cropp Logging has been sentenced in the Tauranga District Court after an incident where a worker was struck by a tumbling log The worker was on his first day on a forestry site in Rangiuru working as head breaker-out when the incident occurred in March 2017. Continue →

A worker had to have his eye removed after an incident involving a corrosive cleaning product at a Tauranga mussel processing plant North Island Mussels Limited was sentenced in the Tauranga District Court following the January 2017 incident which left their worker with life-changing injuries. Continue →

Automated gates pose serious health and safety risks – especially those not fitted with safety devices to guard against injury as the gate opens and closes WorkSafe has issued an automated gate safety alert following a serious incident in which a child was injured by a set of automated gates. Continue →

Does your office culture ensure electrical safety from hazards that expose workers to shocks, fires, and burns caused by faulty electrical wiring, unsafe installations, frayed cords, substandard power trips, and defective equipment? Continue →

WorkSafe has accepted an enforceable undertaking from glass supply and glazing company Woods Glass (New Zealand) Limited The acceptance follows an incident in January 2017 when a worker’s leg was crushed in machinery The worker was injured when the glass cutting machine he was working with jammed. Continue →

A young boy’s lucky escape after he fell from a quad bike and was run over by the equipment being towed behind it serves as a timely reminder for farmers and families to ensure they are keeping kids off adult-sized quad bikes, as riders or passengers WorkSafe says Small farming company Greystone Holdings Limited was sentenced in Wellington District Court after an incident that occurred in July 2016, when a six-year-old was visiting the 60-acre farm owned by his grandparents during school holidays. Continue →