A J Lucas Coal Technologies Pty Ltd

Incident description:

On 12 June 2010 a 27 year old male worker sustained injuries when his left arm was entangled in the moving components of a lathe while he was linishing a metal pipe. Linishing is the process of finishing or polishing metal with abrasive/emery paper.

A J Lucas Coal Technologies Pty Ltd pleaded guilty to a breach of the obligations it held as an employer under s.28 of the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995 being a person conducting a business or undertaking.

The investigation findings presented to the court alleged the worker was a qualified diesel fitter, and was supplied to the defendant by a labour hire firm.

The investigation findings presented to the court revealed:

• the injured worker had experience in the operation of lathes, although he had not used the lathe at this workplace
• he asked another worker a couple of days before the incident how the lathe operated—this could be best described as a casual encounter between him and a longer term employee
• there was nothing to suggest the longer term employee had any responsibilities to show him how to operate the plant or to assess his competency
• the injured worker stated he was experienced in the usual duties associated with his diesel fitting trade and had experience in operating metal lathes
• the injured worker received an induction from the labour hire company in late April 2010, which consisted of him reading through a number of prepared, generic documents
• upon placement with the defendant on 1 May 2010, the injured worker received another induction from the labour hire company
• up until the incident the injured worker carried out various duties associated with his position—he was not required to, nor did he operate the metal lathe at the workplace of the defendant
• the labour hire company carried out a workplace site inspection at the defendant's workplace approximately two weeks after placing the injured worker there
• a risk assessment was not conducted by the defendant for the task being performed on the day of the incident
• the injured worker had not been trained on the use of the lathe
• there was no safe work method statement for operation of the lathe
• there was no manual for the lathe
• the injured worker was wearing loose clothing while operating the lathe
• there was inadequate supervision of the injured worker for his use of the lathe
• there was no chuck guard upon the lathe
• there are other methods of linishing where the risk of entanglement is controlled, such as with the use of a linishing bow or linishing sanding belt machine
• there were no policies or procedures in place for operating the lathe
• the workshop supervisor (who was not on site at the time) indicated the worker was not expected to operate the lathe, had not been instructed to operate the lathe and there was no need for him to undertake the linishing work on the lathe.

Court result:

The defendant pleaded guilty in the Richlands Industrial Magistrates Court on 8 August 2011 to breaching s.24(1) of the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995, having failed to meet its workplace health and safety obligations and was sentenced with no conviction recorded.

Industrial Magistrate Ms Leanne J O'Shea ordered the defendant pay a penalty of $37 000 as well as investigation and court costs totalling $1435.15.

In reaching a decision the industrial magistrate acknowledged the defendant failed to ensure the health and safety of the worker and that there had been very little supervision of the worker, which enabled him to undertake a task that was unnecessary. It was also acknowledged the worker was a labour hire worker and not as familiar with the workplace and its rules.

In deciding the penalty imposed Industrial Magistrate O'Shea took into account 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.

Considerations for prevention:

(Commentary under this heading is not part of the Court's decision.)

When deciding on and implementing control measures associated with the risk of becoming entangled in plant, such as a lathe, whilst performing the task of linishing, obligation holders should consider using a linishing bow or a linishing sanding belt machine, to manage the risk of entanglement.

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

• health and safety for the manufacturing industry
• Guide to safeguarding common machinery and plant
• Guide to machinery and equipment safety 
• managing risk
• employer training options
• training staff
• Plant Code of Practice 2005
• Risk Management Code of Practice 2007
• Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995.