Print Logistics (Aust) Pty Ltd has been fined $30,000 after an employee was seriously injured by an unguarded guillotine.
In March 2024, whilst performing general cutting duties with a Polar Guillotine on an urgent print job, the Print Logistics guillotine operator sought the assistance of another employee. As the size of the cuts they were performing were too small for the guillotine, the operator requested the other employee to stand at the back of the guillotine to hold down the sheet and prevent it from curling up.
Despite being installed with a fixed rear guard, on the day of the incident the guard was not in place on the guillotine. The employee’s arm became entangled in the guillotine causing her to sustain a degloving injury, two fractures and serious tendon damage requiring surgery.
Print Logistics did not have the operating instructions for the guillotine, nor did they have a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) in place. The operating instructions for the machine dictated that a guard must be used at the back-gauge drive unit and prohibited reaching into the machine whilst in operation. The operating instructions also required that in the event of defective protective covers, the guillotine be taken out of operation. The information in the operating instructions was readily available should Print Logistics have sought them out.
Print Logistics has been operating for over 100 years, and it is reasonable to expect them to have a well-developed state of knowledge about the hazards of the printing industry. Machine guarding is a well-known safety requirement when operating plant or machinery that presents any risk to persons of pinching, cutting or crushing. Guidance is available for employers in WorkSafe’s Compliance Code: Plant.
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