Carrington Ginning Pty Ltd

Incident description:

On 20 May 2009, a 27 year old female worker sustained serious injuries after being caught between a cotton bale and the bagging chute within a 'cotton gin' (a cotton engine, used in cotton industry to separate cotton fibre from the seed).

The court acknowledged Carrington Ginning Pty Ltd employed the injured worker as a casual 'gin' worker.

The court found the defendant held obligations under s.28(1) of the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995 being a person conducting a business or undertaking.

The investigation findings presented to the court revealed:

• The worker injured in the incident was operating a 'Books and Bags Machine' with three new workers.
• The worker injured in the incident took a cotton sample from a worker located on the opposite side of the plant by reaching across the front of the bagging chute.
• Simultaneously, two co-workers activated the plant which caused a 220 kg cotton bale to be forced into the bagging chute, catching the worker in between the bagging chute and the cotton bale.
• The worker sustained injuries including:
  • puncture of both lungs
  • partial collapse and consolidation of lower lobe of the left lung
  • comminuted fractures of the first to fourth ribs of the left chest
  • laceration of the spleen requiring surgical removal
  • crush injury to the upper pole of the right kidney.
• The defendant had an induction process in place, plus verbal instructions regarding the operation of the machine, however there were no written instructions.
• The plant involved in the incident had warning safety devices installed, including an emergency stop lanyard.
• Plant was not appropriately guarded in order to prevent access to entrapment points.
• Training of new workers in the use of the machine was inadequate and did not appropriately advise of hazards and use of safety devices.
• The new workers, with less than two days' experience, were left to self-supervise.
• Neither documented safe work procedures nor operator's instructions were available for the plant at the time.

Court result:

The defendant pleaded guilty in the Goondiwindi Industrial Magistrate's Court on 1 March 2010 to breaching s.24(1) of the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995, having failed to meet its workplace health and safety obligations.

Industrial Magistrate Mr W.A. Cridland agreed with Workplace Health and Safety Queensland's submission that the penalty range should be increased in line with the increase of the penalty unit dollar value from $75 to $100 (January 2009). Mr Cridland ordered the defendant pay a penalty of $40 000 as well as investigation and court costs totaling $2071. The defendant was allowed 18 months to pay.

In reaching a decision Industrial Magistrate Cridland acknowledged the defendant had not been prosecuted previously for any other workplace health and safety breaches, cooperated with the investigation and entered an early plea of guilty. The defendant was sentenced with no conviction recorded.

Considerations for prevention:

When working in the manufacturing industry where there is exposure to risks from plant with moving parts, obligation holders should apply a risk management approach to ensure the selection of suitable control measures.

Risk management involves evaluating the consequences and likelihood of harm that may result from the hazard, deciding on and implementing control measures to prevent or minimise the level of the risk from the hazard and monitoring the effectiveness of the control measures to ensure they remain working correctly.

When deciding on and implementing appropriate control measures associated with the risk from plant with moving parts, obligation holders should ensure that such tasks are undertaken by suitably qualified and experienced workers. Obligation holders should ensure that a risk assessment has been completed, documented and evaluated in the area of plant operation. Once evaluated, obligation holders should implement control measures and training programs to ensure all workers are trained and fully aware of the risks and safe working practices of the workplace.

Control measures that may be considered when working with or near plant with exposed moving parts include:

• installing guards that comply with manufacturer's recommendations
• restricting access to the exposed area
• enforcing the use of personal protective equipment when operating plant
• scheduling periodic checks and maintenance of plant
• implementing a system of work to clearly identify plant that requires repairs
• installing safety stop/latches to restrict or stop the movement of plant in an emergency
• implementing an emergency action plan to ensure emergencies are dealt with efficiently and effectively.

Visit the Workplace Health and Safety Queensland website for information on:

• health and safety information for manufacturing
• Modifying plant, machinery or equipment
• managing risk 
• employer training options
• training staff
• Plant Code of Practice 2005
• Risk Management Code of Practice 2007
• Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995.