A workplace has been fined $7,000 after allowing an underage driver to get behind the wheel of an unsafe forklift whilst a young boy was left unsupervised When childcare fell through, the boy was taken to the orchard in January 2022 by his grandparents who worked there. Continue →

A worker suffered laceration to their palm and loss of two of fingertips as a result of inadequate training, WorkSafe has found, which has entered into an Enforceable Undertaking with the worker’s employer WorkSafe New Zealand says an incident where a worker was seriously injured underlines the importance of training staff to keep them safe. Continue →

Businesses have an obligation to keep people safe around vehicles in the workplace, says WorkSafe New Zealand following the sentencing of a Southland business McLellan Freight Limited was contracted to load and unload palm kernel extract at a warehouse leased from South Port in Bluff. Continue →

An electric shock which cost an Auckland scaffolder both his arms could have been avoided if his employer had paid closer attention to who was authorised to do the work Jahden Nelson was dismantling scaffolding in April 2022, when a steel pole he was holding contacted an overhead powerline in the West Auckland suburb of Massey. Continue →

WorkSafe is warning businesses of the catastrophic consequences that can result from failing to undertake routine safety checks on trailers This follows the death of 52-year-old Julian Bruins Yates, whose van was struck when a trailer detached from a work vehicle in October 2020 on Weka Pass Road in Canterbury. Continue →

Dunlop Drymix Limited has been fined $297,000 for its health and safety shortfalls, notably its failure to have a working emergency stop switch for dangerous machinery WorkSafe New Zealand is again warning businesses to be on alert for the dangers of moving machinery, after a worker had his arm amputated on the job at a concrete manufacturer in Manawatū. Continue →

The death of an experienced skier has been put down to an operator’s risk assessment failures, serving as a reminder to all businesses to always fulfill their health and safety obligations, no matter a person’s experience 60-year-old Anita Graf-Russell died of blunt force trauma, after colliding with a wooden fence post at the bottom of Sugar’s Run in September 2019. Continue →

Two fatalities, a serious injury and three high risk incidents in just over a month highlight the health and safety mistakes still being made in workplaces Last month saw two worker deaths involving vehicles and two serious incidents involving dangerous gasses, while there was also a serious injury incident the previous month. Continue →

A teenage worker needed three fingers partly amputated when his summer holiday job went horribly wrong Matthew Nevill, who was 19 at the time, was trying to fix a chain on a conveyor belt at Clyde Orchards in February 2021, when his hands were drawn into the machine. Continue →

The importance of vehicle maintenance and driver training have been laid bare at the court sentencing for a deadly bus crash 11-year-old Hannah Francis was killed and several others seriously injured when the bus, owned and operated by Ruapehu Alpine Lifts Limited (RAL), crashed while descending the Ohakune Mountain Road on 28 July 2018. Continue →

A farm manager was making a wide turn on his quad-bike when his wheels suddenly locked, causing the machine to roll, fatally crushing him A post-accident inspection showed the quad bike’s drive belt had broken. Continue →

Poor risk management and a lack of worker engagement have been identified as factors in the death of an East Coast freezing worker, who was crushed by a falling steel frame full of offal cartons Alfred Edwards was attempting to free a jammed carton in a blast freezer at AFFCO’s Wairoa plant in February 2020, when a frame fell and fatally crushed him. Continue →

Though the machine had undergone significant safety modifications, it was still not compliant with New Zealand safety standards and the responsible parties were found liable for a worker’s injury A multinational company has been sentenced after a worker’s arm got caught in a bark-stripping machine, which did not have the appropriate safeguards for New Zealand use. Continue →

A Hawke’s Bay meatworks faces costs of $328,000 after being sentenced for poor training and supervision Poor training and supervision contributed to a worker having his hand seriously injured on unsafe machinery at a Hawke’s Bay meatworks, which has now been sentenced. Continue →

Two construction companies have been held accountable for a cavalier attitude toward keeping people safe when working at height The lack of planning and implementation of safety measures from both companies left a builder with life-changing injuries after they fell three metres from an unguarded second floor void on a construction site in September 2020, including a broken spine causing paralysis. Continue →

Workers can be exposed to risks that may lead to musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSDs), but what are they and what factors increase their likelihood? Continue →

Despite the slide being operated by another party, a council has been sentenced for its part in failing to keep people safe when it collapsed Thames Coromandel District Council authorised JTK Trustee Limited to operate the giant inflatable slide at the Whangamatā Summer Festival in December 2020. Continue →

A business which didn’t properly safeguard its machinery has been sentenced over two incidents, six months apart, in which workers had their hands disfigured West Auckland bakery Bakeworks Limited, which makes gluten-free products, was sentenced in Waitakere District Court for health and safety failures related to both incidents. Continue →

A Bay of Plenty business with an undocumented and ineffective health and safety process has been sentenced after a raised skip bin fell on a worker and inflicted a severe brain injury The victim, now 52 years old, was emptying the skip bin when it fell on his head and shoulders in March 2021. Continue →

Inadequate training and supervision contributed to the death of a forestry technician in northern Hawke’s Bay, WorkSafe finds The technician was repairing a mechanical attachment, known as a harvester head, when the device was activated by being manually spun. Continue →