Fencing company fined $80,000 over injury to worker
Issue Date: - Wednesday, 14 November 2007
A Baldivis fencing company has been fined $80,000 for failing to provide a safe workplace after a 19-year-old female employee was seriously injured on her first day on the job.
Darlex Pty Ltd – trading as Brushwood Australia – pleaded guilty to failing to provide and maintain a safe working environment and was fined in the Rockingham Magistrates Court yesterday.
In February last year, the injured woman and a male employee began work at Brushwood Australia, manufacturing brushwood fence panels on a custom-built panel machine.
The male employee was operating the front of the machine where loose brushwood sticks were inserted, while the woman was inserting clips from the top of the machine to hold the brushwood in place.
After working for around 40 minutes, the woman’s right hand became caught in the machine at a “nip point” between a hydraulic ram and a fixed piece of frame in the bed of the machine.
The woman had no way of stopping the machine because there was no emergency stop button within her reach. Two stop buttons were located near the other new employee, but these only stopped the machine when it had completed a 50-second cycle.
The machine did have a “reset” button that stopped it immediately, but it was located in a control box off to one side of the machine. This reset button was activated by a Director of the company when he heard the woman’s cries.
A safety induction manual was present at the workplace at the time of the incident, and it did refer to the risk of such an injury.
However, neither of the new employees was given any formal training in the use of the panel machine, nor were the risks of the use of this machine brought to their attention.
Both new employees were simply instructed to observe the previous shift and then perform the same tasks themselves.
As a result of the incident, the woman sustained a serious crushing and de-gloving injury to her right hand, was hospitalized for three weeks and required further surgery later. She is not expected to recover full use of her hand.
WorkSafe WA Commissioner Nina Lyhne said today that the case was a shocking example of what should never be done with new employees.
“This is a very serious case of an employer neglecting the basic duty of care for employees, and what is even worse is that the incident was entirely avoidable,” Ms Lyhne said.
“The employer failed not only to guard the machinery, but gave new employees next to no training in the use of the machine, and certainly no warning of the hazards involved in its operation.
“We consider the training of new and young workers to be one of the most crucial factors in safety management – in fact, it is one of WorkSafe’s operational priority areas, and a large amount of time and resources is directed to ensuring that employers are made aware of the need to induct and properly train new and young employees.
“There are few events more devastating than the death or serious injury of a young person with a long life ahead of them, or the maiming of a worker when they are still new to the job, as has happened in this case.
“After this incident, the employer had guarding, a new stop switch and warning signs installed around the machine, but all too late for the young woman who was seriously injured and left with a permanent disability.
“This case should serve as a reminder to all employers that they have a duty of care to ensure that all workers – especially those who are new to the workplace – are provided with a safe workplace and adequate and appropriate training and induction.”
Further information on making the workplace safe can be obtained by telephoning WorkSafe on 9327 8777 or on the website at www.worksafe.wa.gov.au.