Victorian Prosecutions:
Carpet manufacturer fined after worker's arm trapped
Hoppers Crossing company T.S.T Carpet Manufacturers (Australia) Pty Ltd, which makes carpet products for cars, was last week fined $25,000 after a worker's arm was caught and crushed in one of their 'tufting' machines in 2018.
Workers feed yarn into one of eight 'tufters' via a series of rollers to produce carpet. One machine was fitted with two top rollers and two bottom rollers which were not guarded.
On 16 March 2018, there was an issue with the machine and a worker was attempting to resolve it by sandpapering the end of the rubber roller as the machine was running. As he held the sandpaper against the roller it got caught and his right arm was drawn into the machine, and trapped for 5-10 minutes. An ambulance was called and another employee removed one of the rollers to free him. He was transferred to hospital and he underwent operations for crush injuries.
The company pleaded guilty to two charges and was without conviction fined of $25,000 plus $4,187 costs.
Apartment developer fined $80,000
Residential apartment developer Erfanian Developments Pty Ltd has been fined $80,000 after WorkSafe inspectors detected multiple safety breaches at two construction sites in Melbourne's eastern suburbs.
The developer was convicted of eight offences under the OHS Act. The firm, which went into liquidation in June 2018, was also ordered to pay $4115 in costs.
Between 15 August 2017 and 8 January 2018 WorkSafe attended multiple times at construction sites in Kilsyth and Bulleen that were under the company's control. Inspectors at Kilsyth observed people working at a height of three metres on scaffolding that was unsafe and incomplete, creating a risk of serious injury or death from scaffold collapse or falling. People entering or leaving the units were also at risk of tripping on steps, colliding with harmful objects, or suffering injuries.
At Bulleen, five people were observed working within half a metre of an unguarded first floor balcony and roof edge. People were also observed accessing the roof area via an unsecured scaffold ladder placed on material and debris,
At both sites, inspectors saw people working close to unguarded stair voids, with access to the first floors via unsecured ladders in the unguarded voids. People were working close to edges with no fall prevention measures in place at both sites. Both worksites were also strewn with excess materials, off-cuts, debris, piles of broken plaster, loose scaffold materials stacked in main access ways, and general rubbish placing workers at risk of injury from slipping, tripping, falling or coming into contact with harmful objects.
Read more: WorkSafe media release
To check all of the recent prosecutions, go to the WorkSafe Prosecution Result Summaries and Enforceable Undertakings webpage.