Cryoquip fined $50,000 after worker’s fingers trapped in machine

The company pleaded guilty to two charges of failing to provide a safe workplace and was sentenced without conviction at Dandenong Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday 10 December. It was fined $30,000 for failing to provide a safe system of work and $20,000 for failing to provide and maintain safe plant, with a further $4,000 ordered in costs.

The incident occurred in June 2022 while the worker was using a machine that made 90-degree bends in pipes. Operators had to hold a pipe manually as the bending process began. With one hand holding the pipe and the other pressing the activation button, the worker’s fingers were caught when a second vice closed before she could move her hand away.

The worker was concerned that pressing the emergency stop would halt the machine without releasing the vice. She allowed the bending cycle to finish so the vice would open automatically. She suffered a serious hand injury and was transported to hospital by ambulance.

WorkSafe’s investigation found there was no formal training procedure for operating the machine. The manager who had trained the injured worker had not received formal training himself and had been using trial and error to operate it.

It was reasonably practicable for Cryoquip to provide a safe system of work that included a machine risk assessment, along with information, instruction and training for employees. This included explaining how to adjust the machine’s time delay settings.

WorkSafe Executive Director of Health and Safety Sam Jenkin said the incident demonstrated the importance of having appropriate training and safety controls when working with plant.

"No worker should have to go through something so gruesome, and on top of that be unsure of what they are supposed to do in an emergency," Mr Jenkin said.

"There is no room for laxity when it comes to working with high-risk equipment and WorkSafe will continue to take action against employers who fail to ensure they are providing safe machinery and proper training to their workers."

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