Court Summary - at a glance

Date of offence:
16 March 2017
 
Plea:
Guilty
 
Decision:
Guilty
 
Final decision date:
 
Fine imposed:
$264,000

Safety lessons learned:
  1. Ensure that there were adequate guarding arrangements on the out-feed of the Optimiser;
  2. Ensure that emergency stop devices on the out-feed of the Optimiser were fully operative, prominent and immediately accessible to each user of the machine;
  3. Develop, document, implement, communicate, and monitor the effectiveness of a safe system of work for the operation of the Optimiser. This would include:
    • Developing and implementing safe operating procedures for all operations on the Optimiser including the hazards in the outfeed area; and
    • Ensuring that all workers working on the Optimiser were trained and supervised according to the safe operating procedures.

Defendant name:
Claymark Limited
 
Industry:
Manufacturing
 
Date of offence:
16 March 2017
 
Facts in brief:
Claymark Limited is a timber processing company. The victim, a machine operator at Claymark’s Rotorua site, suffered amputation of the top of three fingers when his hand became entangled in the chain of an inadequately guarded optimiser machine.
 
Offence section:
Sections 48(1) and 2(c), and 36(1)(a) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015
 
Date(s) charged:

Court:
Rotorua - District Court
 
Plea:
Guilty
 
Final decision date:
 
Decision:
Guilty
 
Fine imposed:
$264,000
 
Maximum fine available:
$1.5 million
 
Reparation:
$4,000 in addition to $24,000 already paid
 
Related Documents:
PDF
Sentencing notes - WorkSafe NZ v Claymark Limited (PDF 668 KB)
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