Issue Date:  -  Friday, 20 October 2006

Timber company fined over unguarded machinery

A Bassendean timber company has been fined $25,500 for failing to provide a safe workplace after a worker’s hand and arm were seriously injured in an unguarded conveyor.

Pinetec Limited pleaded guilty in the Midland Magistrates Court yesterday to failing to provide a safe workplace, and by that failure, causing serious harm to the worker.

Pinetec had hired a worker through a labour hire company in October 2003, and that worker had his hand and arm cut and burnt in January 2004 when it was trapped in the unguarded pinch-point of two conveyor belts.

The man had been leaning over a guardrail to unblock a woodchip conveyor as he had been shown by his supervisor when he slipped on woodchips and fell forward, pushing his left hand into the pinch-point where the top and bottom conveyor belts met.

There was no guarding on that part of the conveyor, and the belt caught the worker’s glove and pulled his arm into it, bending and twisting it around a pulley.

The man screamed for help for ten minutes, but could not be heard above the machinery noise.  A worker from the factory next door eventually heard the man’s cries for help and climbed the fence to go to his aid.

There was no emergency stop button within the man’s reach, and it took another 20 minutes to free him by cutting the conveyor belt.  His arm and hand was cut and burnt and he underwent several operations to remove part of his hand and apply skin grafts.

WorkSafe WA Commissioner Nina Lyhne said today it was disappointing that employers still needed to be reminded of the importance of machinery guarding.

“Guarding has been required by occupational safety and health legislation for so long now that the message should well and truly have been accepted,” she said.

“But this case shows once again that the message is clearly not getting through, and a man has been left with permanent injuries because the employer failed to ensure his safety by guarding the dangerous parts of the machine.

“After this incident, the employer installed a guard over the pinch-point of the conveyor and emergency stop buttons throughout the mill, but too late to prevent this serious injury.

“WorkSafe inspectors had issued notices relating to guarding of machinery several times over the years before this incident, so the employer should have been aware of the need for guards.

“Guarding is one of the easiest and most obvious means of minimising the risk of injury to machinery operators, and the cost of installing guarding is far less than the cost in human and economic terms of a serious injury to a worker.”

Further information on machinery guarding can be obtained by telephoning WorkSafe on 9327 8777 or on the website at www.worksafe.wa.gov.au.

Media contact:
Caroline De Vaney
9327 8744
0408 927 563