Bodi Choice Pty Ltd (operating as Googys Natural Protein Foods) has been fined $15,000 with conviction for the failure to provide guarding on a dangerous piece of equipment at their production facility where they produce and package a range of health chocolates and protein bars.
In December 2023 a Bodi Choice employee was asked by their supervisor to prepare the honeycomb flavouring for a particular chocolate bar. The task involved the placing measured ingredients into a blender machine and blending it until it became a powder, then transferring the powder into a heated stirring tank which contained warm chocolate.
The stirring tank had no guarding. Bodi Choice relied on an administrative control only to protect employees from harm – a printed direction in the OHS handbook reminding employees to not put their hands inside the machine.
As the employee was pouring the powder from the blender into the stirring tank a blade from the blender fell into the uncovered tank. The employee reached in to retrieve the blade and their left arm became entangled in the rotating paddles, breaking their arm in three places.
The injured employee was transported to hospital and required surgery on their arm.
Under s.20(a) and (b) of the OHS Act employers have a duty to eliminate risks to health and safety so far as is reasonably practicable; and to reduce those risks so far as is reasonably practicable if it is not possible to eliminate them. The Hierarchy of Control is a method of ensuring that the strongest possible controls are implemented to protect employees from risks.
The OHS Act does not impose a duty to rigidly apply the hierarchy to every hazard, even if this is an effective practice and a good way to ensure s.20 and s.21 duties are properly met. However, the OHS Regulations do require the application of a hierarchy process when managing certain high-risk work, including Plant
The Hierarchy of Control is a step-by-step system for controlling and managing risk in the workplace. When it is not possible to eliminate a hazard, it helps to consider different control measures and choose the most effective and practicable ones to reduce the risks. As a rule, if elimination is not possible then employers must first try to implement higher order controls and only if these are not reasonably practicable should administrative controls and PPE be considered.
- Elimination - Physically remove the hazard and eliminate the risks that come with it. E.g. Eliminate the risk of falling from a height by doing the work at ground level
- Substitution - Substitute the hazard with a safer alternative. E.g. using plant-based printing inks as a substitute for solvent-based inks
- Isolation - Physically isolate the hazard from people. E.g. use remote controls for machines
- Engineering- An engineering control is a control measure that is physical in nature. E.g. installing guards or devices that prevent physical access to the hazard
- Administrative - Administrative controls are work methods or procedures designed to minimise exposure to a hazard. E.g. designing policies and safety procedures, signs, time-limiting exposure to the hazard
- Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) - PPE is anything employees use or wear to minimise risks to their health and safety. E.g. safety boots, glasses, harnesses, high visibility clothing
Regulations 99-100 specifically cover the requirement for the guarding of items of plant wherever there is potential for pinch-points or entanglement. Employers can find guidance about machine guarding at WorkSafe’s Compliance Code: Plant.
Bodi Choice had a duty to provide their employees with more than just a written direction to not put their hands into the stirring tank. As demonstrated by the injuries sustained by their employee, the potential consequences for failing to guard this piece of machinery were severe – and completely avoidable.
Read more: Prosecution Result Summaries and Enforceable Undertakings | WorkSafe Victoria