Farm fined $165k over conveyor belt amputation
A mushroom farm operator has been fined $165,000 for a WHS offence arising from an incident that cost an elderly worker his arm.
In September 2014, a 76-year-old worker was undertaking maintenance work on a conveyor at a mushroom farm in Sydney’s north-west when a piece of rubbish became lodged between the tail-end pulley and conveyor belt. While attempting to remove it, his shirt sleeve became caught and he suffered a serious injury to his right arm which later required amputation.
Employer’s failures
SafeWork NSW’s investigation found the employer, Hills Mushrooms Pty Ltd, failed to take a number of actions which could have prevented the incident. Specifically, the business:
- failed to install guarding to prevent access to the conveyor and nip points
- failed to prohibit workers performing maintenance on the conveyor
- failed to develop a ‘lock-out/tag-out’ procedure to isolate the conveyor’s power during maintenance, and
- failed to designate and train a worker who was responsible for:
- operating the machine
- ensuring guarding was installed and
- ensuring lockout procedures were in place.
Changes made after incident
The regulator was also of the view that had Hills Mushrooms installed guarding around the nip points of the conveyor and had a lock out system in place the incident could have been prevented.
Following the incident, Hills Mushrooms took steps to prevent future incidents, including installing guarding, implementing a lock out and tag out procedure, improving training and supervision, modifying the layout of the plant, implementing exclusion zones and installing limiting switches and residual current devices to electrical components.
Hills Mushrooms was charged under section 32 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 for failing to comply with its duty under section 19(1) of the Act and convicted in the District Court with a fine of $165,000.
The decision was not available online at the time of publication.
By WorkplaceOHS editorial team
This article was originally posted on Workplace OHS a part of NSW Business Chamber – Australian Business Consulting and Solutions has a dedicated team of WHS/OHS experts who can assist you with your specific WHS/OHS issues and problems.
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