Fine after faulty machine injures worker

The risks of poor work practices coupled with unsafe machinery have been highlighted in a recent case before the SA Industrial Relations Court.

Soyganic Foods Australia was fined $15,600 in December 2008 after pleading guilty to two breaches of the Occupational Health Safety and Welfare Act 1986 in that it failed to ensure the safety of an employee and failed to report the incident as soon as practicable.

SafeWork SA prosecuted the company following an incident in June 2006 at the company’s factory. A female worker sustained severe finger injuries when caught in a carousel that had been unexpectedly activated by her supervisor.

As she recovered from her injuries, she discovered the incident had not been reported to either SafeWork SA or WorkCover. The court heard her injuries remain painful and restrictive.

SafeWork SA investigations revealed the machine’s safety interlock had been removed, and that a screwdriver had been wedged into the machine’s ‘continuous run’ button.

The court was told that there were no safe working procedures, there was inadequate information, training and supervision, and that prior warnings on the unsafe state of the machine had been ignored.

Industrial Magistrate Stephen Lieschke said the offence arose because the machine was still in use even after a number of malfunctions had occurred: “This was not the product of a lapse in an otherwise complying system, but the result of deliberate decisions to continue to use a machine in an informal manner.”

In March 2007, the company was taken over by new owners, who cooperated with SafeWork SA and pleaded guilty to the offences at the first opportunity.

After a 20% reduction, Magistrate Lieschke fined the company $14,000 for the unsafe workplace offence, and $1600 for its failure to report the incident.

“Machines can kill and maim if the right safety systems are not implemented,” says SafeWork SA Executive Director Michele Patterson. “This case is yet another sad example of the human and financial costs that arise from an employer’s failure to understand their safety responsibilities and manage them appropriately.”