WorkSafe New Zealand is warning businesses that it is unacceptable to allow staff to operate cranes and other machinery without direct supervision or appropriate training The warning comes after a fatal incident in Christchurch in January 2020. Continue →

WorkSafe is reminding businesses of the importance of adequate risk assessments and exclusion zones, after a worker was shot in the chest with a nail gun Sleepwell (NZ) Limited makes mattresses and bed bases at a plant in South Auckland. Continue →

Repeated exposure to vibration from hand and power tools and while using vehicles and machinery can cause permanent injury to blood vessels, nerves and joints Vibration from tools and machines can be transmitted into workers’ hands and arms. Continue →

Relying on worker competency to manage risky work is no substitute for current and effective risk management plans, WorkSafe warns It comes as a Hawkes Bay steel plate cutting company was fined following a November 2017 incident in which a worker’s leg was crushed by a package of steel being moved by a gantry crane. Continue →

The death of a West Coast flooring company employee has drawn a strong warning from WorkSafe for businesses not to rely on the experience of workers in the absence of proper risk identification and management In March 2019 an employee of Coastwide Flooring Limited was installing carpet in a Greymouth building using a strong organic solvent-based adhesive. Continue →

No matter what industry you are in, hands are by far the most commonly used tool, so how do you protect your team from injuries? Continue →

Routine inspection and maintenance of the company’s wired edge protection would have saved this worker’s life In January 2019 the worker was transporting cars using a trailer he leased from Car Haulaways Limited. Continue →

Vehicle Inspection New Zealand Limited (VINZ) must pay up over $500,000 after failing to adhere to its own health and safety practices for keeping customers safe The February 2019 incident involved a customer being struck by a vehicle driven by a VINZ employee at the Hamilton testing site. Continue →

This contributes to 15 per cent of all of New Zealand’s work-place fatalities, or around 10 lives a year, a WorkSafe analysis reveals Not wearing seatbelts while on the job was the largest single factor contributing to fatal work-related accidents, according to a data analysis completed by WorkSafe. Continue →

While the risk of vehicles tipping was known, the Ports of Auckland failed to effectively monitor and address critical tip alarm activations, says WorkSafe’s Area Manager Danielle Henry In August 2018 a stevedore at the Ports of Auckland was loading and unloading containers on to ships, using a straddle carrier (a freight carrying vehicle). Continue →

The gas water heater used to supply a shower in which a 12-year-old boy died, should never have been installed inside the bathroom, says WorkSafe The victim was using a shower at his family’s holiday home in 2018 and died as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning. Continue →

A construction company has been fined $200,000 after a worker fell from the scaffold they had been told to assemble, despite their lack of experience Scaffolds will only keep workers safe if they are erected by someone with competence experience, says WorkSafe. Continue →

If a vehicle’s safety features are compromised, then no one should be driving it That’s the message from WorkSafe following the death of a woman who was ejected from a Utility Task Vehicle (UTV), commonly referred to as a side by side. Continue →

All work with gas must be done by the book – because when things go wrong, the consequences can be grave, says WorkSafe Certifying gasfitter Gregory John Smith was repairing a fireplace at a home in Christchurch in July 2019. Continue →

There are over one million hand injuries in the United States per year according to the National Safety Council, many of which could have been avoided by using the proper equipment and tools Industrial hand safety is crucial for working in environments where your hands are vulnerable to cuts and lacerations.  Continue →

D & H Steel Construction has been fined $220,000 for their failure to guard machinery which resulted in a worker having his leg amputated The incident occurred in August 2018 where a worker was operating a machine used to drill, saw and fabricate steel. Continue →

A worker who had been manually felling trees on a wood block was found unresponsive under a fallen tree, having sustained fatal crushing injuries There were no witnesses to the event, however an investigation found it was likely that a tree the worker had felled had brushed past a dead tree, causing the dead tree to uproot and fall, pinning and fatally injuring the worker. Continue →

Failure to ensure simple safety measures, such as machine guarding and supervision are in place, has left a worker with severe injuries after his arm got caught in a machine used to shred tyres Waste Management NZ Limited specialises in waste and environmental services and has sites across the country. Continue →

The Defence Force has been fined $288,750 after not following health and safety guidelines, resulting in the death of a trainee diver during an advanced diving course   In March 2019 a group of trainees was taking part in an 18 week advanced diving course. Continue →