RM Williams prosecuted and fined $90,000
Australian Icon RM Williams Pty Ltd has been convicted and fined $90,000 as a result of a 2015 injury to a worker left with significant burns and permanent injuries.
The prosecution and fine resulted from the 2015 injury of an employee who was operating a heated logo stamping machine called a ‘Tow Puff Machine’. The operation of the machine required the operator to press a foot pedal which engaged a metal plate press heated to 200 degrees Celsius.
In the incident, the employee who had worked for the employer for some time had moved to a different area using different equipment. The employee had been demonstrated the correct way to use the equipment, but when she encountered difficulties was shown an alternative method by a co-worker. The employee was operating the machine using the second method when she crushed some of her fingers and sustained third degree burns. It was found that the interlocked guard was rendered ineffective through an unsafe work practice of holding the safety buttons with forearms and the product in the employee’s fingers-with the intention of removing fingers at the last minute.
Following investigation by Safe Work SA, RM Williams Pty Ltd was charged with failing to comply with a health and safety duty and exposing an employee to the risk of serious injury.
Significantly, RM Williams had been prosecuted previously in 2009 over a similar incident which resulted in the requirement of interlocking guards on the machine.
The Presiding Magistrate Ardlie expressed concern that the defendant was unaware of the various ways in which workers had learnt to defeat the safety measures in place. “It is a matter for grave concern that the worker being a ‘new’ worker on the plant was being instructed in a practice which was positively dangerous and sought to defeat the machines safety measures,” said Magistrate Ardlie.
Could this happen in your workplace?
This case highlights the importance of employers ensuring that workplace health and safety systems are more than a set and forget or tick and flick approach.
To successfully discharge workplace health and safety duties an employer must ensure that it is eliminating workplace health and safety risks to employees or minimising them as far as is reasonably practicable.
Some of the major issues of concern in this case include:
- Ineffective Training of new workers
Statistics show that new or inexperienced workers are at much higher risk of injury than experienced workers. When an employee commences employment or even changes department or role, it is essential that they are provided with all the necessary training and instruction. It goes without saying that an employee should be trained in the correct and safe method for performing the job but as this case demonstrates, providing training and instruction in safe work methods requires more than just teaming a new worker with a more experienced one and hoping for the best.
- Turning a blind eye to unsafe work practices
In this case the unsafe work method was devised by workers as a work around to overcome difficulties faced by workers. Whilst management said that they were unaware of these practices. The team leader was and was subsequently disciplined by the employer. Are your employees, supervisors or management turning a blind eye to unsafe work practices?
- Failure to review risk controls
Whilst (inadequate) guarding had been installed following RM Williams’ first prosecution in 2009, it appears that it was assumed that risk was controlled and the effectiveness of this control was not reviewed. Doing so may have identified deficiencies in the machinery guarding, the residual risk of injury to employees and the relatively low cost of improving the guarding. (Following this incident the employer had updated interlocking guard fitted within two and at a cost of $1500 plus labour).
- Lack of communication and consultation
In this case, it was identified that the unsafe work practice existed in response to a worker identified problem (working on smaller boots). It seems that the issue was problem solved on the job without consideration to safe work practices. Had WH&S consultation and communication in the workplace been better, the unsafe work practices might have been identified and eliminated in a timely manner.
- Focus on production to the detriment of safety
A singular company focus on meeting output/production targets can send the message that the job needs to get done at any cost. Whether employees view safety as a priority in terms of how they perform their job is reflective of the company safety culture. Building a safety culture requires a long term consistent approach with high level management commitment.
Do any of the above occur in your workplace? In isolation, these issues may seem minor, but together they create a dysfunctional safety climate.