Court Summary - at a glance
Date of offence:
13 February 2019
Plea:
Guilty
Decision:
Convicted and fined
Final decision date:
Fine imposed:
Pakiri fine – $468,000
Ernslaw fine – $288,000
Ernslaw fine – $288,000
Safety lessons learned:
It was reasonably practicable for Pakiri to have:
- Consulted with Ernslaw One Limited (EOL) and/or Top Spot external auditors (Top Spot) to ensure that it obtained the full Top Spot audit results for Crew 26 from 21 May 2018 and 20 September 2018 (the audits) in a timely fashion.
- Reviewed the audits and identified, in consultation with EOL, the corrective actions necessary to remedy the concerns raised by the audits.
- Monitored the performance of Crew 26 to ensure the implementation of the identified corrective actions.
- Ensured that, on 13 February 2019, Crew 26 complied with the following applicable breaking out rules and/or procedures:
- retreat to an appropriate safe retreat distance before each drag, being a distance of no less than the mean tree height (45.4 metres) for the drag that resulted in Mr Miller’s death;
- all breaking out workers must be on the same side of the drag, and behind the head breaker out, before the signal to haul any stems can be given;
- that the hauler operator must be advised of a gut hooked stem before the haul signal is given; and
- that all workers must watch every stem drag, from the appropriate safe retreat distance, while it is in progress.
- Ensured that the Crew 26 foreman was adequately supervised to confirm that he was performing his allocated health and safety tasks.
Defendant name:
Pakiri Logging Limited and Ernslaw One Limited
Industry:
Forestry
Date of offence:
13 February 2019
Facts in brief:
The victim was working for a forest harvesting company Pakiri Logging Limited in West Ho Forest near Tolaga Bay when he was struck whilst logs were being hauled out of a steep valley via skyline cable system.
Both companies (the employer and the principal contractor) had completed safety risk audits two months before the incident indicating that the exclusion zone risks were well known to them. Whether it was an audit outcome, hazard identification, or a near miss, they had a responsibility to act immediately.
Both companies (the employer and the principal contractor) had completed safety risk audits two months before the incident indicating that the exclusion zone risks were well known to them. Whether it was an audit outcome, hazard identification, or a near miss, they had a responsibility to act immediately.
Offence section:
s36(1)(a) and 48(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015
Date(s) charged:
30 March 2020
Court:
Gisborne - District Court
Plea:
Guilty
Final decision date:
Decision:
Convicted and fined
Fine imposed:
Pakiri fine – $468,000
Ernslaw fine – $288,000
Ernslaw fine – $288,000
Maximum fine available:
$1.5 million
Reparation:
Emotional harm – $117,916
Consequential loss – $138,492
Costs – $24,200
Consequential loss – $138,492
Costs – $24,200
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