On 16 July 2024, a company was sentenced in the Ipswich Magistrates Court for breaching section 32 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (‘the Act’) when a 16 year-old worker received an amputation injury down to the first knuckle of his left hand forefinger whilst carrying out cleaning duties on an inadequately guarded food processing machine.
The items of plant used to create beef patties, a Formax 26 Patty Forming Machines (‘the PFMs’), were located in two rooms at the workplace. Once they were loaded with ground beef and switched on, the PFMs operated automatically to create patties. In the manufacturing process there was a component which shaped the patties known as a ‘Mould Plate’ which had multiple patty-shaped cavities that was constantly moving within the PFMs.
As part of this manufacturing process, excess meat would be removed from the bottom of the beef patties just before they exited the PFMs. This meat, known as ‘extrusion’, would travel down a small escape passage out of the PFMs where it would fall onto a stainless-steel chute into a collection tub.
The injured person was one of a number of workers engaged in the manufacture of the patties and his role was known as a ‘reworker’ who were responsible for collecting the extrusion in the tubs and removing it for further processing. Extrusion would often stick to the chute and, when collecting it, reworkers would regularly use their hands to reach in to dislodge it. The injured person was shown to crouch at the side of the conveyors and use his hand to scrape off any extrusion which built up on the bottom of the chute. The injured person modified this work procedure approximately two weeks prior to the incident and he began crouching under the conveyors to scrape off the extrusion instead of crouching beside them. He also commenced reaching right to the top of the chute rather than only removing the extrusion at the bottom. No supervisor, present within the injured person’s work area, stopped him or instructed him to stop carrying out this work activity in this modified manner.
On 3 November 2021 the injured person was carrying out his work as a reworker and crouched under one of the conveyors to clean extrusion from the chute. As he reached up above toward the top of the chute his glove was caught by the moving conveyor and his hand was rapidly drawn in and upwards into the path of the moving Mould Plate which has struck and amputated the tip of his left forefinger. The injured person received medical treatment, including multiple surgeries. His fingertip was not able to be re-attached.
Workplace Health and Safety Queensland (‘WHSQ’) conducted an investigation which identified that the PFM machines had inadequate guarding to prohibit access around the conveyor and the strike point from the mould plate. It was also identified that risk assessments undertaken by the company were inadequate, consisting of desk top audits annually and that the work instruction for the task undertaken by the injured person were inadequate as there was no description as to how to safely carry out the extrusion removal task. Inadequacies in supervision were also identified as were inadequate specific policies and safety procedures for young workers.
Post incident the company immediately took a number of steps to improve safety including installing guarding on the chutes and amending the Work Instruction to provide clearer direction on how the extrusion work is to be carried out with a specific direction not to climb under the conveyors.
In considering the appropriate penalty his Honour took in to account the details of the offending as outlined by the parties in their submissions. His Honour took in to account the principles within the Penalties and Sentences Act 1992 as well as noting the mitigating features present, being, an early plea of guilty, co-operation in the WHSQ investigation, that the defendant company had no previous convictions and made contributions to the local community along with the stated remorse and regret expressed on behalf of the company that the young worker had been injured in its business activities. His Honour also took in to account the post-incident measures the company had quickly put in place following this incident occurrence. His Honour imposed the penalty noted above and, taking in to account the above matters, declined to record a conviction.
OWHSP contact: enquiries@owhsp.qld.gov.au
Section 32 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011