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Health and Safety at Work Act (HSWA) Stories - Page 7

Kiwi Stories

Health and Safety at Work Act (HSWA) stories

Log firm sentenced after fatality
Risk & Compliance

Log firm sentenced after fatality

A worker's death has led to a GBP £195,000 fine and GBP £65,000 in reparations after unsafe log-handling practices breached safety rules.

By Michael Curreen • 2 min read • Tue, 3rd Mar 2020
Time to toughen up and close the loopholes
Risk & Compliance

Time to toughen up and close the loopholes

Risk-averse directors could face personal liability as Worksafe New Zealand weighs tougher action after a worker was left quadriplegic.

By Michael Curreen • 8 min read • Tue, 3rd Mar 2020
Prepare your workplace to guard against Covid-19
Human Capital Management

Prepare your workplace to guard against Covid-19

Employers in New Zealand are urged to plan for staff isolation, pay and closures as coronavirus risks grow.

By Michael Curreen • 4 min read • Mon, 24th Feb 2020
Company fined $108,000 for demolishing building with asbestos
Risk & Compliance

Company fined $108,000 for demolishing building with asbestos

Asbestos risks were ignored during demolition, leaving workers and the public exposed and prompting a NZD $108,000 court penalty.

By Michael Curreen • 2 min read • Thu, 6th Feb 2020
Are Enforceable Undertakings worthwhile?
Health and Safety

Are Enforceable Undertakings worthwhile?

The case has led to safer procedures, better interpretation support and wider industry training after a worker was crushed on a glass-cutting machine.

By Michael Curreen • 4 min read • Sun, 2nd Feb 2020
Are your contractors competent?
Risk & Compliance

Are your contractors competent?

Companies can face serious penalties if they hire untrained contractors, after a forestry worker suffered major chest injuries in Waitakere.

By Michael Curreen • 3 min read • Tue, 14th Jan 2020
A new era for safety training in Dunedin
Risk & Compliance

A new era for safety training in Dunedin

Construction firms in the south will get more local support as new purpose-built training rooms open in Dunedin.

By Michael Curreen • 3 min read • Fri, 13th Dec 2019
Student and teacher injured on falling scaffold
Risk & Compliance

Student and teacher injured on falling scaffold

Lack of height-safety procedures left a teacher and student unconscious after a scaffold toppled during school lighting setup.

By Michael Curreen • 3 min read • Mon, 28th Oct 2019
How to ace your next safety audit
Risk & Compliance

How to ace your next safety audit

Regular safety audits are helping construction firms lift compliance, with Site Safe warning many still lag on new hazard rules and reporting.

By Michael Curreen • 6 min read • Wed, 9th Oct 2019
Companies sentenced after tree falls on children
Risk & Compliance

Companies sentenced after tree falls on children

Auckland childcare and property firms were fined after a dead tree crushed a playground, injuring four toddlers and a teacher.

By Michael Curreen • 3 min read • Wed, 2nd Oct 2019
Worker left paralysed after company failed to train him
Risk & Compliance

Worker left paralysed after company failed to train him

A North Island firm has been fined and ordered to pay reparation after an untrained worker was left paralysed in a boom lift fall.

By Michael Curreen • 2 min read • Wed, 25th Sep 2019
Asbestos went undetected in botched demolition
Risk & Compliance

Asbestos went undetected in botched demolition

Neighbours were endangered and a wheelchair user trapped when a demolition error caused a gas leak and asbestos exposure risks.

By Michael Curreen • 4 min read • Tue, 10th Sep 2019
Company sentenced after unsupervised worker hit by felled tree
Risk & Compliance

Company sentenced after unsupervised worker hit by felled tree

WorkSafe said trainee crews lacked supervision and safety gear, after an inexperienced forestry worker was knocked unconscious by a felled tree.

By Michael Curreen • 3 min read • Thu, 5th Sep 2019
Collision after faulty truck’s brakes fail
Risk & Compliance

Collision after faulty truck’s brakes fail

A safety prosecution has exposed maintenance failures after a brake defect left two people badly injured and cost Sorensen Transport GBP £150,000.

By Michael Curreen • 3 min read • Sun, 1st Sep 2019
Imported machinery causes fatality
Risk & Compliance

Imported machinery causes fatality

A WorkSafe probe found the unguarded filler was not certified to New Zealand standards, exposing staff to a fatal entanglement risk.

By Michael Curreen • 2 min read • Sun, 25th Aug 2019
Food packaging company prosecuted after ignoring previous warnings
Risk & Compliance

Food packaging company prosecuted after ignoring previous warnings

A worker lost fingers in a machine incident after repeated safety warnings, leaving Alto Packaging facing a GBP £250,000 fine and reparation.

By Michael Curreen • 2 min read • Mon, 19th Aug 2019
New WorkSafe guidance for contracting arrangements
Risk & Compliance

New WorkSafe guidance for contracting arrangements

Tighter expectations on consulting and monitoring contractors will leave PCBUs needing clearer records under WorkSafe’s new guidance.

By Michael Curreen • 4 min read • Wed, 14th Aug 2019
Manager covers up wood splitter injury
Law

Manager covers up wood splitter injury

A farm director has been jailed for four months’ community detention after telling an injured worker to lie to investigators over a wood splitter crash.

By Michael Curreen • 3 min read • Fri, 9th Aug 2019
Footpath damaged by construction leads to elderly man’s death
Risk & Compliance

Footpath damaged by construction leads to elderly man’s death

WorkSafe says pedestrians near building sites can face fatal risks after a damaged Papatoetoe footpath led to a retired man's death.

By Michael Curreen • 2 min read • Thu, 25th Jul 2019