True Foods Pty Ltd has been fined $35,000 after failing to provide guarding on equipment which resulted in an employee’s serious hand injury in July 2023.
Tru Foods manufactures wraps, naan breads, roti and tortillas in Maryborough using an item of plant referred to as the Line 6 Tewimat. Part of the Tewimat known as the Chunker divides dough into chunks with a paddle dough feeder – those chunks are then formed into dough balls and supplied to a press for flattening before they are baked.
During production the paddle dough feed is inaccessible. The dough portioning part of the Tewimat can be pulled out of the main plant so that the moving parts of the paddle dough feeder can be accessed for cleaning and maintenance activities.
Following a fire in the control panel for Line 6 the production manager directed employees to clean up, and in the process of assisting with this task the employee placed his hand under the Chunker to release some stuck dough. The paddle dough feeder caught his finger, pulled it into the Chunker and trapped his hand.
It took an hour and a half to free the employee before he was air-lifted to St Vincent Hospital for surgery to repair his broken bones.
True Foods accepted that the plant presented a serious risk to employees and that it was reasonable to eliminate or reduce the risk by installing interlocking guarding to restrict access to the paddle dough feeder area of the Tewimat.
In it’s finding the Court noted that the injury sustained was not an element of the offence, it is the exposure to the risk which is the offence. The injury is however relevant to what can occur if the risk eventuates.
Part 3.5 of the OHS Regulations deals with Plant and seeks to protect people at work against risks to health or safety arising from plant and systems of work associated with plant. You can learn more about plant regulations at our OHS Reps page 3.5 Plant.
Employers can refer to the WorkSafe publication Compliance Code: Plant for guidance on complying with their duties and obligations under the OHS Act and Regulations.
Read more: https://www.worksafe.vic.gov.au/prosecution-result-summaries-enforceable-undertakings
