Flour Mill Crash: $ 310,000 Fine for Champion Flour Milling After One Worker Was Paralyzed

One of New Zealand’s best-known flour brands was fined $ 310,000 after a worker was paralyzed after falling nearly 4 meters from a platform.

Champion Flour Milling Limited was also ordered to pay $ 100,000 to the seriously injured woman after WorkSafe successfully prosecuted the company for its failures.

WorkSafe said the woman suffered life-changing injuries in July 2018 when she fell 3.7m from an unsafe fixed platform and an unsecured ladder she was using to maintain a grain conveyor at the Christchurch mill.

She was paralyzed from the waist down.

A Worksafe investigation discovered multiple security flaws at the plant.

The platform the woman fell from had no handrails or permanent access and did not meet industry standards.

Although the worker was required to wear a harness, there were no qualified anchor points for her to hold onto.

Worksafe said the flaws were “obvious.”

The government workplace health and safety regulator also found that while Champion had policies and procedures for working at height, they were not effectively implemented.

“A worker now faces a very different life because Champion failed to meet his obligations,” said WorkSafe Chief Inspector Steve Kelly.

WorkSafe said companies need to make sure the plant is safe.

Health and safety policies and procedures will not protect workers unless they are fully and effectively implemented, so engineering controls must be considered first, he said.