Australia Meat Holdings Pty Ltd trading as AMH Rockhampton

Incident description:

A young worker, employed as a trainee, was injured while using a pallet transporter to move a loaded rack of boxed meat. The worker had not been fully trained in the use of the transporter and had been advised by his supervisor not to use it without supervision. However, shortly after the supervisor left the room to get a drink, the worker noticed that a rack of boxed meat had become full and needed to be shifted. As there was no one else to shift the rack and he did not know when his supervisor would return, the worker attempted to operate the transporter without supervision. As soon as he engaged the trigger mechanism which powers the machine, the machine went backwards and rammed into the racks behind him. The worker's left leg was fractured as a result of being pinned between the transporter and the racks.

Investigation findings:

The hazards requiring management in this case were:

• allowing a young worker to operate an item of plant that he was not yet competent to use
• failing to properly train and supervise the young worker to enable him to carry out his duties safely.

Considerations for prevention:

After the incident, the company:

• Modified the transporter in a way that requires the operator to stand on the platform before the transporter will move off.
• Improved the competency assessment process and added a practical assessment for the use of the transporter.

Obligation holders should consider the requirements of the Plant Code of Practice 2005, in particular part 5.22 Instructing, Training and Supervising Workers and 5.2 Design and Manufacture and section 35 of the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995 'obligations of owners of plant'.

Court result:

The company was found guilty and fine $30,000 with no conviction recorded.

• Sprains and strains prevention fact sheet (PDF, 152kB)
• Contact between persons, transporters, cane bins and/or locomotives