Court Summary - at a glance
Date of offence:
20 August 2015
Plea:
Guilty
Decision:
Convicted
Final decision date:
Fine imposed:
$33,125
Safety lessons learned:
- Ensure identification and documentation of site specific hazards and the appropriate controls needed to eliminate, isolate or minimise the hazards and effectively communicate these to employees.
In this instance, the Defendant should have ensured that the following site specific controls were used:- Having no ignition source present when applying a flammable solvent based contact adhesive by following the correct working sequence that the LPG gas torch was not used while the flammable solvent based contact adhesive was open and being used in the same enclosed area.
- Safely ventilating the bathroom area when using a flammable solvent based contact adhesive or, if this was not possible due to the secure nature of the facility or the dimensions of the working environment, using a non-flammable water based contact adhesive; and
- Ensure that employees have available on site and wear the appropriate personnel protection equipment when using a flammable solvent based contact adhesive.
Defendant name:
Hamilton Flooring Limited
Industry:
Building and construction
Date of offence:
20 August 2015
Facts in brief:
The Defendant company installs commercial and residential flooring.
The Defendant was contracted by the Waikato District Health Board (“WDHB”) to provide general flooring services which included installing vinyl at one of the WDHB sites.
At the time of the incident, two employees of the Defendant were working at a secure mental health facility. The windows at the site were secured and could not be opened. There was an extractor fan, however, this was not in use.
One employee used an LPG gas blow torch to heat and mould the vinyl for installation. The other employee used a solvent based adhesive named Ados F55 (also known as CRC 8052 F55 Red) which is a Class 3.1B hazardous substance and is highly flammable.
A fireball occurred when the vapours of the adhesive were ignited by the naked flame from the gas torch. One of the employees received burns to approximately 21 to 25 percent of his total body.
The Defendant was contracted by the Waikato District Health Board (“WDHB”) to provide general flooring services which included installing vinyl at one of the WDHB sites.
At the time of the incident, two employees of the Defendant were working at a secure mental health facility. The windows at the site were secured and could not be opened. There was an extractor fan, however, this was not in use.
One employee used an LPG gas blow torch to heat and mould the vinyl for installation. The other employee used a solvent based adhesive named Ados F55 (also known as CRC 8052 F55 Red) which is a Class 3.1B hazardous substance and is highly flammable.
A fireball occurred when the vapours of the adhesive were ignited by the naked flame from the gas torch. One of the employees received burns to approximately 21 to 25 percent of his total body.
Offence section:
Sections 6 and 50(1)(a) of the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992
Date(s) charged:
19 February 2016
Court:
Hamilton - District Court
Plea:
Guilty
Final decision date:
Decision:
Convicted
Fine imposed:
$33,125
Maximum fine available:
$250,000
Reparation:
$24,482.88
Related Documents:
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