Court Summary - at a glance

Date of offence:
12 May 2014
 
Plea:
Guilty
 
Decision:
Convicted
 
Final decision date:
 
Fine imposed:
$33,000

Safety lessons learned:
  1. To have ensured that no person was in the pit at the dead end or south end while strands were being placed under tension;
  2. To have implemented a warning system with a delay set that sounded a warning at the dead end to alert people that the strands were about to be tensioned.

Defendant name:
HEB Construction Limited
 
Industry:
Building and construction
 
Date of offence:
12 May 2014
 
Facts in brief:
The Defendant company has a pre-cast facility where it manufactures ore-stressed concrete components for use in a range of construction projects including the construction of bridges. The Defendant has a ‘Super-Tee’ plant at the site. The Super-Tee plant is used for the manufacture of pre-stressed concrete beams. This is an approximately 35-metre long trench through which steel strands are placed, secured at a dead end and then at a live end stretched to a pre-stressed condition. Concrete is then poured and the beam constructed.

On the day of the incident the victim who was employed by Labourworks New Zealand Ltd (a recruitment company) was directed by the foreman on the mould Super tee to go to the dead end to feed additional cable through one of the strand holds. It appears that there had been a breakdown in communication between the foreman and the victim. One of the cables being pre-stressed let go and as a result the cable extended through the victim’s thigh.

The strand nicked the victim’s femur and he required surgery to remove metal particles from his thigh.
 
Offence section:
Section 18(1)(a) and section 50(1)(a) of the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992
 
Date(s) charged:

Court:
Tauranga - District Court
 
Plea:
Guilty
 
Final decision date:
 
Decision:
Convicted
 
Fine imposed:
$33,000
 
Maximum fine available:
$250,000
 
Reparation:
$30,000
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