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Waste Management NZ were sentenced in Hamilton District Court after a worker was seriously injured.
One company was fined $ 400,000 after a worker was seriously injured when his arm was caught in a machine used to shred tires.
Waste Management NZ was found guilty of health and safety failures in a trial in August and was sentenced in Hamilton District Court on Monday.
They were fined $ 400,000 and ordered to pay $ 50,000 to the victim, who was operating a tire shredder when debris clogged the conveyor belt at their Kerepehi site in November 2017.
When the worker tried to remove it while the machine was running, his arm was trapped and he was unable to activate the emergency stop, but he finally managed to free his arm.
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As a result, the worker sustained tear injuries and broke his forearm.
An investigation by WorkSafe found that the conveyor belt was missing protection, which introduced tires into the machine, as it had been removed for modification.
Despite having no protection, the machine was still in use.
Not only was it unacceptable for the machine to be used without protection, but there was no safe working system in place, said WorkSafe area manager Danielle Henry.
“There was an emergency stop button, but its location meant that it couldn’t be reached if a worker got caught in the machine, which is what happened in this incident.
“In addition to this, at the time of the incident, the victim was operating the machine alone, when there should have been adequate supervision to assist in the event of an emergency.”
A robust and safe working system would have prevented the tire shredder and components from being operated while the protection performed was modified, Henry said.
“Businesses must stop removing the protection that exists to keep people safe.
“Waste Management NZ Limited should not have allowed this machine to be used without safeguards or processes in place.”
