Victorian Prosecutions:
Packaging supplier fined $35k after employee injures hand
Brickwood (Vic) Pty Ltd, a milk and juice packaging manufacturer and supplier in the Cheltenham area, used a Uniloy branded 'Blow Moulder' machine to mould plastic bottles. The machine had interlocked guarding, however, bodily access to the danger area of the plant was possible through the installed blow pin and the fitted interlocked guarding. This created a risk of employees receiving serious crush injuries.
This occurred on 20 November 2017, when an employee suffered serious injuries to his right hand after attempting remove excess plastic that had become stuck in the machine. As the he pushed the plastic down from the blow pin, the blow mould closed, crushing and partially amputating two of the man's fingers on his right hand.
The company pleaded guilty and was without conviction sentenced to pay a fine of $35,000 and to pay costs of $4,000.
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