Waste Management fined $ 400k for accident at Kerepehi tire shredder in Waikato

Waste Management Ltd was fined $ 400,000 after a worker’s arm was caught in a tire shredder at Kerepehi in Waikato.

A Hamilton District Court judge also ordered the company to pay $ 50,000 in repair to the worker, whose arm was caught in the machine in November 2017.

WorkSafe said that when debris clogged the conveyor belt to the tire shredder, the worker tried to remove it while the machine was running and his arm was trapped.

“The worker was unable to activate the emergency stop, but finally managed to free his arm,” the agency said.

“As a result of the incident, the worker suffered tear injuries and a broken forearm.”

A subsequent investigation by WorkSafe found that protection was missing on the conveyor belt that fed the tires to the machine as it had been removed for modification. Despite not having machine protection, the machine was still in use.

WorkSafe Waikato Area Manager Danielle Henry said that not only was it unacceptable for the machine to be used without protection, but there was no safe work system in place.

“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,” he said.

“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, such as the lock and the tag, would have prevented the tire shredder and components from being operated while modifying the protection performed.

“Companies must stop removing the protection that exists to keep people safe. Waste Management NZ should not have allowed this machine to be used without protection or safe processes in place. Their failure to implement these simple safety measures has left a worker seriously injured. “

Waste Management garbage trucks have been involved in several fatal accidents in recent years.

The company, owned by Beijing Capital Group, is building new sorting and recycling plants in Henderson and Hamilton.