Court Summary - at a glance
Date of offence:
26 September 2016
Plea:
Guilty
Decision:
Convicted
Final decision date:
Fine imposed:
$506,300
Safety lessons learned:
- Develop, document, implement and communicate an adequate safe system of work for unloading the wagons in the metro canopy. This would involve:
- Conducting a comprehensive and methodical risk assessment of the task of unloading in the metro canopy including consideration of:
- The possibility of pedestrians entering the unloading zone;
- The hazard of freight falling from tines of forklifts;
- The height of stacks and their potential fall zone.
- Procedures for establishing physically segregated and adequate pedestrian exclusion zones while unloading wagons in the metro canopy area including clear rules covering pedestrian and forklift interaction.
- Procedures for unloading palletised oats;
- Procedures for identifying, assessing and controlling the risks associated with non-routine situations that made unloading freight a higher risk activity such as where:
- The freight had become potentially unstable in transit;
- Unsecured roof poles were present in the wagons.
- Provide temporary physical barriers, demarcate pedestrian walkways and exclusion zones and install temporary warning signage in the metro canopy area;
- Monitor, enforce compliance by workers with, and review the ongoing effectiveness of the safe system of work.
Defendant name:
Toll Networks (NZ) Limited
Industry:
Postal, transport and warehousing
Date of offence:
26 September 2016
Facts in brief:
On Friday 23 September 2016, a forklift operator employed by the Defendant was loading pallets on to a wagon bound for Auckland. During the loading, the forklift operator noticed an issue with one of the roof poles and decided to lift the roof pole and place it horizontally on top of the pallets before closing the curtain and dispatching the wagon for Auckland.
On Monday 26 September 2016, at the Auckland Deport, a worker encountered difficulties as the back stack of three pallets was caught by the roof pole. He reversed and went forward several times, and the roof pole finally came clear of the wagon, although it was still attached by its webbing.
At this point, the victim arrived at the end of the metro canopy. The worker was still manoeuvring the double stack of pallets. The webbing attaching the roof pole to the wagon broke, and the roof pole fell to the ground. The victim moved towards the wagon and roof pole, lifting the roof pole from where it leant against the stack to a vertical position. The worker then reversed the rest of the way out of the wagon and started to lower the load on the forklift tines. The load shifted as it cleared the edge of the wagon and the back stack of three pallets tipped off the tines, striking the victim.
The victim sustained fatal crush injuries and died at the scene.
On Monday 26 September 2016, at the Auckland Deport, a worker encountered difficulties as the back stack of three pallets was caught by the roof pole. He reversed and went forward several times, and the roof pole finally came clear of the wagon, although it was still attached by its webbing.
At this point, the victim arrived at the end of the metro canopy. The worker was still manoeuvring the double stack of pallets. The webbing attaching the roof pole to the wagon broke, and the roof pole fell to the ground. The victim moved towards the wagon and roof pole, lifting the roof pole from where it leant against the stack to a vertical position. The worker then reversed the rest of the way out of the wagon and started to lower the load on the forklift tines. The load shifted as it cleared the edge of the wagon and the back stack of three pallets tipped off the tines, striking the victim.
The victim sustained fatal crush injuries and died at the scene.
Offence section:
Sections 48(1) and (2)(c) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015
Date(s) charged:
Court:
Auckland - District Court
Plea:
Guilty
Final decision date:
Decision:
Convicted
Fine imposed:
$506,300
Maximum fine available:
$1.5 million
Reparation:
$110,000 (emotional harm) and $8,020 (consequential loss)
Related Documents:
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