Warning on Machinery Hazards

Prosecutions highlight the duty to ensure machinery is both safe to use and used safely. Two recent prosecutions again highlight the need to ensure that workers remain safe, so far as reasonably practicable, when using machinery.

In the first case, a meat works company was sentenced in the Hastings District Court to a fine of $280,000 and reparations of $48,000 after a 17-year-old sustained significant hand injuries. The victim was two weeks into the job and was trained to use a lamb brisket cutter machine by a co-worker who had started on the same day as him. The co-worker demonstrated how to use the machine with one hand. When the victim followed this method, his right hand was struck by the brisket cutter blades. This partially amputated his thumb, index finger, middle finger and ring finger. Supervisors, senior management, and the company owners were unaware of the brisket cutter being used single-handedly and, until this incident, did not believe it could be used in such a way.  The matter went to trial in December 2022 and the company was subsequently found guilty of health and safety failures. The Judge noted in his decision that “training was completely inadequate and… positively dangerous.” The case underscores the need for businesses to ensure that their training for new workers is comprehensive and structured, and that work practices do not “drift” into unsafe methods. This is especially important where engineering controls such as guarding cannot be used on a machine.

In the second case, a multinational company was sentenced to a fine of $180,000 and further reparations of $10,000 after a worker’s arm got caught in a bark-stripping machine which did not have the appropriate safeguards in place for use in New Zealand. The incident occurred in June 2021 when a worker was troubleshooting on the debarking machine. The rollers closed and trapped his wrist. He required surgery for a broken arm and a dislocated wrist. The investigation found that significant safety modifications were made to the debarker machine before it was put into use. But the company did not ensure the machine met New Zealand safeguarding standards. Nor did it bring in a qualified expert to assess the adequacy of the safeguarding of the machine. After the sentencing, WorkSafe reminded those bringing new machinery into the country to do their due diligence to bring the equipment into line with New Zealand safety standards and to get the right experts and advice.  

Machinery is a common cause of injury in the workplace. WorkSafe says about 80% of acute work-related injuries involve machinery and equipment. Notably, it warns that protecting people from machines is a priority, and that it is increasing its focus and enforcement activity in this area.