The forklift caught fire in March 2024, igniting LPG that was being released from condemned cylinders at Tank Test in Papatoetoe. Several 9kg gas bottles exploded, fuelling a significant fire. The driver was hospitalised with burns and spent nine weeks off work.

In sentencing Tank Test, Judge Gus Andrée Wiltens described the hazard as “clear and obvious”. He noted the company could have eliminated the risk at no cost by ensuring forklift and degassing operations never happened at the same time.

“This case isn't just about flammable gases. It's about a pattern we see across industries,” says WorkSafe principal inspector, David Worsfold.

“Businesses may identify risks but can fail to follow through with proper controls. They have procedures but don't ensure they're working in practice.”

Every business, regardless of industry, can learn from what went wrong at Tank Test:

• Don't mistake having a procedure for having safety. Tank Test had procedures. But procedures that aren't monitored and enforced are just paper.
• Simple solutions often work best. The company could have prevented this explosion by changing when certain tasks happened. No complex engineering. No massive investment. Just better planning and discipline.
• If you can see the risk, eliminate it. Tank Test identified the hazard but didn't act decisively enough. The Court heard that after WorkSafe intervened, the company bought a flame-proof forklift. That same decision, made earlier, would have prevented the explosion.
• Certification isn't supervision. Tank Test had obtained a Location Compliance Certificate less than two months before the incident. Compliance with standards doesn't replace day-to-day management of safety.

“The lesson here transcends any single industry,” says David Worsfold.

“Whether you're working with flammable gases, operating machinery, managing heights, or dealing with any workplace hazard, the principle is the same: identify the risk, implement controls that actually work, and make sure people follow them.”

“This worker ended up in hospital because his employer didn't take simple steps to eliminate an obvious risk. Every business leader should ask themselves: where are we making the same mistake?”

The case highlights a critical gap WorkSafe sees repeatedly: the space between knowing what should be done and actually doing it.

"The question every business needs to answer is 'are our safety procedures actually keeping our workers safe?' If you can't honestly say yes, it's time to close that gap."

WorkSafe’s role is to influence businesses and workers to meet their responsibilities to keep people healthy and safe. Manufacturing is a priority sector for WorkSafe, as injury rates in manufacturing have remained stubbornly high over the past decade.

Try WorkSafe’s improvement toolkit for businesses, SafePlus

Background

• Tank Test Laboratories 2017 Limited was sentenced in a reserved decision of the Manukau District Court.
• Judge Gus Andrée Wiltens imposed a fine of $300,000 and reparations of $5,000
• Tank Test was charged under sections 36(1)(a) and 48(1) and (2)(c) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015
  • Being a PCBU, having a duty to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers who work for the PCBU (including the victim), while the workers are at work in the business or undertaking, failed to comply with that duty, and that failure exposed any individual to a risk of death or serious injury.