Court Summary - at a glance
Date of offence:
14 August 2014
Plea:
Guilty
Decision:
Convicted
Final decision date:
Fine imposed:
$45,000
Safety lessons learned:
- Identify the hazard of workers accessing the gap between the kicker and the conveyor belt.
- Isolate the harm by properly guarding the machine to prevent access to the kickers while it was in operation.
- Ensured that the victim was fully trained or supervised while working in an area he was unfamiliar with
- Tested alterations made to the conveyor belt by starting up production and running a series of logs through the machinery.
Defendant name:
Nelson Pine Industries Limited
Industry:
Manufacturing
Date of offence:
14 August 2014
Facts in brief:
The defendant company is a manufacturer of fibreboard and laminated veneer lumber from radiate pine trees. The victim was employed by Nelson Pine as a plant operator on a full time basis at their Richmond factory.
Around 7pm on 13 August 2014, the victim began working the night shift. He was meant to be operating the forklift for the duration of his shift. He was asked to assist with the Green Waste Area crew, clearing jams as required. He was shown how to clear the jams by three other workers by standing on the floor behind the machinery fencing on the far side, leading to a chipping and using a hooked pole to move the logs.
He carried out this task alone although he was provided with a radio to communicate with other workers. He found his hooked pole to be not effective and began to clear the jams by standing on the side of the conveyor and using his hands.
While he was clearing logs using his hands, a second kicker was triggered and his left forearm was hit. He suffered serious lacerations across the width of his forearm, with nerve, tendon and muscle damage.
Around 7pm on 13 August 2014, the victim began working the night shift. He was meant to be operating the forklift for the duration of his shift. He was asked to assist with the Green Waste Area crew, clearing jams as required. He was shown how to clear the jams by three other workers by standing on the floor behind the machinery fencing on the far side, leading to a chipping and using a hooked pole to move the logs.
He carried out this task alone although he was provided with a radio to communicate with other workers. He found his hooked pole to be not effective and began to clear the jams by standing on the side of the conveyor and using his hands.
While he was clearing logs using his hands, a second kicker was triggered and his left forearm was hit. He suffered serious lacerations across the width of his forearm, with nerve, tendon and muscle damage.
Offence section:
S6 Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992
Date(s) charged:
Court:
Nelson - District Court
Plea:
Guilty
Final decision date:
Decision:
Convicted
Fine imposed:
$45,000
Maximum fine available:
$250,000
Reparation:
$10,000
Last updated