NZ injury highlights need for machine guarding

The New Zealand Department of Labour stressed the need to properly guard dangerous machinery after a court fined Yarrows the Bakers Ltd $45,000 and $17,146 reparation costs for serious injuries suffered by an employee whose hand was crushed in the rollers of a pastry-rolling machine.

“This case is a reminder that moving equipment must be properly guarded or positioned out of reach of employees,” said Department of Labour’s New Plymouth service manager Brett Murray. “Employers must have documented procedures to show employees how to do these tasks safely; and they must ensure that employees understand and follow these safe processes.”

The accident happened when the employee was cleaning machinery and was looking into a chute into which blocks of pastry dough were dropped before being passed through rollers and pressed into flat sheets. He dropped a cleaning scraper and instinctively tried to retrieve it by reaching into the chute with his hand, but his fingers were caught by a moving roller, drawing his hand in and crushing it.

Yarrows was prosecuted for failing to ensure there was adequate guarding to protect its employee and for not having an effective procedure for operating and cleaning the roller equipment. The company was previously prosecuted over an accident in 2004 when an employee lost the tips of two fingers in a dough-cutting machine.

Murray says the case highlights that guardrails and positioning dangerous equipment out of reach are more effective at preventing accidents than relying on people’s good judgement: “In this case, the employee made a bad call when he put his hand into the chute when the rollers were moving. But it was an instinctive reaction to try to retrieve the scraper.

“All humans make mistakes. So employers need to have safety controls in place to stop bad calls causing serious accidents. That means installing proper guarding and safety systems that turn machinery off if guards are lifted or doors open. Employers also need effective procedures that cover operating, cleaning and maintaining equipment, and training staff to use the equipment safely.”