Rubber company fined $450,000 after worker killed by machinery
02 May 2024•BlueSafe Team•Source: WorkSafe VIC
The Elastomers Pty Ltd has been fined $450,000 after a worker was fatally struck by machinery at its Dandenong South factory. The company pleaded guilty to failing to provide plant that was, so far as reasonably practicable, safe and without risks to health.
The Melbourne County Court sentenced the company on Friday over the death of a 47-year-old worker in May 2021.
The court heard the worker entered a danger zone beneath a moving component of a rubber extrusion processing line, known as the wig wag, presumably to clear a blockage. His entry triggered a light curtain safety sensor, stopping the machine.
Another operator, working at a different level and unable to see the worker, then restarted the machine using the upper control panel. The wig wag began moving and struck the worker on the head. Paramedics treated him, but he died at the scene.
WorkSafe's investigation identified a gap between the light curtain and the danger zone. Once the worker had passed through the light curtain, his presence in the danger zone did not keep the sensor interrupted, allowing the machine to restart.
It was reasonably practicable for The Elastomers to provide guarding, including a physical interlock barrier, that would prevent workers accessing the danger zone while the machine was running.
WorkSafe Executive Director Health and Safety Narelle Beer said employers must take all possible steps to reduce workplace risks, including identifying potential problems before an incident occurs. "This terrible incident was entirely foreseeable and, tragically, a worker has paid for the employer's lack of foresight with his life," Dr Beer said.
"Safety guarding on plant and machinery is crucial and it’s incumbent upon employers to provide workers with the highest possible level of safety, including proactively identifying risks and asking: are the control measures we have in place enough?"
How Blue Safe can help: Our free WHS self-check can help you review your approach to workplace health and safety and identify areas that need closer attention, including how machinery risks are managed. Take the free WHS self-check