The recent media release from Worksafe around the sad death of a 23-year-old apprentice diesel mechanic in North Canterbury back in 2022 detailing how the trainee fitter was tasked to carry out repairs to a loader that involved working to the underside of an elevated boom which subsequently collapsed.
The investigation uncovered that the company didn’t have an effective procedure for the repairs. In addition to this, the apprentice had asked for advice on how to carry out the task and was given inadequate instruction and supervision. The article mentions that the worker was nearing the end of his apprenticeship but highlights the reduced experience he had in the role which would be another factor leading to this tragedy.
The business involved was charged under section 36(1)(a) and 48(1) and (2) (c) of the Health and Safety at Work Act- Being a PCBU having a duty to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers who work for the PCBU, while the workers were at work in the business or undertaking, namely repairing a wheel loader, did fail to comply with that duty, and that failure exposed a person to risk of death or serious injury from being struck or crushed by the wheel loader’s boom.
The maximum penalty is a fine not exceeding $1.5 million. The Company was fined $302,500 and reparations of $278,000 was additionally ordered.
The above is a sad reminder of the importance to have appropriate processes and procedures in place to protect the health and safety of your workers and others. Additional considerations to be made.
