Morwell based company Retired AKZ Pty Ltd (formerly known as AKZ Reinforcing Pty Ltd) makes a return to court after injuring their fifth employee in much the same way. Their repeated failures to provide plant and systems of work that are safe, and to provide appropriate information, instruction, training and supervision have left five employees with serious finger injuries.
SafetyNet reported in July 2024 about a single prosecution that sought to address incidents at AKZ’s workshop that occurred in May 2018, November 2020, August 2021 and February 2023. The Court noted that the uncontrolled hazards that led to the injuries were obvious, the likelihood of harm was high, and the consequences were foreseeable. AKZ told the court that the company was about to be wound up and the Magistrates’ Court sentenced AKZ, with conviction, to pay a fine of $92,000.
The Director of Public Prosecutions appealed the lenient sentence, and in December 2024 the County Court set aside the orders of the Magistrates’ Court and imposed a fine of $146,000.
In July 2023 a fifth employee sustained a serious finger injury whilst working on an unguarded bending machine. A guard was available for the bending unit of the machine, as an optional feature – AKZ chose to procure the bending machine without a guard.
The employee was asked to complete a bend that he had not previously performed, and he felt rushed when a supervisor instructed him to begin the bend as a truck was waiting for the item. While performing the bend his left hand was pulled into and trapped in the rollers of the machine, causing a partial de-gloving of his index finger.
Despite the operating manual provided at purchase of the machine warning about the risk and requiring that all personnel, including the operator, must stay at least two meters away from the front of the machine while it was operating, AKZ management instructed the employee that if a metal bar rotated outwards during a bend, to place the palm of his hand on the bar and press it slightly to push the bar backwards towards the machine, thereby exposing the worker to making bodily contact with the danger area. There was no task-specific safe operating procedure provided, nor instruction or training given to the employee, who was also not trained in emergency response or procedure if an emergency was to arise while working on the machine – he had only been told that if anything happened, to “just ask for help”.
Again, AKZ was charged under s.21 of the OHS Act for failing to provide or maintain plant that was safe, and for failure to provide employees the necessary instruction, information and training. The maximum penalty for a breach of s.21 of the OHS Act in July 2023 was approximately $1.73M.
AKZ was sentenced, with conviction, to pay a fine of $90,000. AKZ has sold the assets of the business, including all real property interests and machinery, and no longer operates any business.
Read more: Prosecution Result Summaries and Enforceable Undertakings | WorkSafe Victoria