Charlton Farm Produce Pty Ltd
July 2023
The incident
In February 2020, a worker employed as a trainee shift supervisor at Charlton Farm Produce Pty Ltd was overseeing the onion grading and packaging area of the processing facility.
The worker was working close to a traverse conveyor when they reached in with their left hand to remove onion debris, which was building up behind the product guides on the conveyor.
The worker’s gloved hand was drawn into a gap between the conveyor belt ends. They received serious injuries, including the degloving of their left hand and amputation of their left thumb and part of their left index finger.
Findings
Inspectors from WorkSafe Tasmania investigating the incident found:
- Charlton Farm Produce designed and manufactured plant for its onion processing facility. The conveyor where the worker was caught was one of these items of plant
- the entrapment (nip) point was unguarded. The conveyor has been installed close to the floor, at or around knee height. Access to the area was not restricted and the gap between the conveyors was approximately 10mm
- Charlton Farm Produce had not established or formalised its processes for identifying hazards and assessing risk during the plant’s design, manufacturing, or commissioning phases. It had failed to identify the entrapment risk associated with this conveyor system. Consequently, the plant was put into service with inherent risks to those who would use it for the purpose it was designed for
- Charlton Farm Produce employed a tradesman boilermaker to fabricate plant according to Charlton Farm Produce’s design criteria, and together, they would make it function.
It was found that Charlton Farm Produce’s managing director:
- could make unchallenged decisions about designing and manufacturing some of the plant in-house, despite not holding any specific qualifications in engineering design processes
- did not refer to relevant standards or guidelines when making decisions about the plant he designed and manufactured
- did not carry out or arrange for any calculations, analysis, testing or examination reasonably necessary to identify the risks for the plant Charlton Farm Produce designed and manufactured for use by its workers.
The penalties
Charlton Farm Produce Pty Ltd was charged with:
- 3 counts of fail to comply with a health and safety duty: Category 2, Section 32 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2012
- 1 count of commissioning plant without establishing that it is without risk to health and safety, under Regulation 204 of the Work Health and Safety Regulations 2012.
On 20 July 2023 in the Launceston Magistrates Court, Charlton Farms Produce Pty Ltd was found guilty on both charges, and fined $70,000 with a conviction recorded.
Lazenby Sand Pty Ltd
March 2023
The incident
In January 2020, a worker employed by Lazenby Sand Pty Ltd on a full time basis as a production manager/plant operator, was diagnosed with silicosis.
The worker's work involved feeding screens, loading and carting material, dealing with customers, and operating and maintaining fixed and mobile plant around the site.
The work exposed the worker to airborne dust, particularly during dry and windy weather. He was not required to undertake a medical examination when he began work at Lazenby Sand, and he was not provided with any health monitoring until November 2019, after which he was diagnosed with silicosis. Therefore it is not known when he contracted silicosis.
Findings
Inspectors from WorkSafe Tasmania investigating the incident found:
- the worker was exposed to respirable crystalline silica at the Lazenby Sand site
- the worker wasn’t provided with any instruction or training about dust
- there were no respirators available until 2017
- there was no information provided about silica or dust generally, no signage, and no toolbox talks
- before Lazenby Sand’s employment of a business manager in 2016, there was a lack of WHS resources, which contributed to a lack of understanding of the WHS laws and the WHS risks at the site.
The penalties
Lazenby Sand Pty Ltd was charged with:
- one count of failing to comply with a health and safety duty: Category 2, Section 32 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2012.
On 3 March 2023 in the Hobart Magistrates Court, Lazenby Sands was found guilty on both charges, and fined $230,000 with a conviction recorded.