Meat processor fined $90K after worker crushed by forklift
Warrnambool meat processor Midfield Meat International has been convicted and fined $90,000 after a worker was hit by a forklift in 2019. The company pleaded guilty for failing to ensure persons other than employees were not exposed to risks to their health and safety.
On 20 March 2019, a labour hire worker was hit by a reversing forklift as he was stacking cardboard sheets against a wall. The worker’s legs were crushed between the forklift and a steel barrier; he was taken to hospital and suffered nerve damage to his lower legs. An investigation by WorkSafe Victoria found that although there was a traffic management plan in place, pedestrian workers regularly worked within the forklift operating zone despite the risk of collision.
WorkSafe Executive Director of Health and Safety Julie Nielsen said the incident should serve as a wake-up call to this company and to others that it is unacceptable for pedestrians and mobile plant to mix.
“It is vital that employers have appropriate traffic management plans in place and enforce them including, if necessary, physical barriers such as bollards and chains to keep mobile plant and pedestrians at a safe distance,” said Nielsen.
Employers using mobile plant should ensure that a traffic management plan is in place for pedestrians and powered mobile plant and that it is updated as appropriate. Pedestrians should be separated from moving machinery, with an effective communication system between operators, transport contractors and ground staff in place. Signage should also be in place and barriers erected where appropriate.
Employers are urged to identify visibility issues, particularly if lighting is poor. Workers operating equipment should also hold the appropriate high risk work licences. Machinery and vehicles should be inspected and maintained regularly by a suitably qualified person, with employees and health and safety representatives consulted about health and safety issues.
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