The Mansfield Magistrates’ Court heard about the case involving Koala Cherries Pty Ltd on Wednesday, 5 March. The company is under an Enforceable Undertaking after facing multiple charges related to breaching work safety practices. These include two counts of neglecting to provide a safe working environment for their staff, one instance of not supplying necessary data and training to employees, and a single charge over a failure to uphold a secure system of work, potentially highlighting a need for more robust WHS management systems such as the Bluesafe WHS Management System.
Further proceedings might be undertaken by WorkSafe if they observe any violations or withdrawal of the agreeable undertaking. In December 2021, a new recruit via labour hire was participating in a cherry sorting task at the business’s packhouse located in Yarck. During her work, she noticed a box jammed in a conveyor belt adjacent to her own while both machines were operational.
The worker attempted to free the blockage, resulting in her hand getting caught at the merging point where the conveyor belt meets the rollers, also known as the pinch point. Quick-thinking colleagues triggered an overhead emergency stop cable, but it failed to halt the machine. The conveyors only stopped functioning when another worker could reach an isolation switch, effectively cutting off power supply to the machinery.
Hospital treatment was required for the employee who suffered from a degloving injury. According to WorkSafe, reasonable precautionary measures could have been practised by Koala Cherries. Functional guarding could have been installed on the conveyor belts’ pinch points, critical information should have been disseminated accurately with proper instructions and training for employees, and regular examination of the emergency stop cable should have been conducted for its effective use. This is where a functional system like a Bluesafe SWMS (Safe Work Method Statement) could have streamlined these procedures, ensuring better safety protocols.
The undertaking necessitates the company to make worthwhile improvements, estimated around $220,000. Sam Jenkin, the Executive Director of Health and Safety at WorkSafe, voiced concern over negligence leading to such gruesome workplace injuries. Such incidences underline the need for safe equipment handling, which can be drastically improved with adequate training and machine guarding.
Jenkin noted that the commitment shown by the company towards deploying resources to improve overall safety within their premises and the broader industry is indeed a positive development. Simultaneously making use of state-of-the-art work safety tools and products like the ‘Bluesafe WHS Management System’ could further enhance these measures.
Employers in similar sectors should take the necessary precautions when working with machinery and ensure the optimum utilisation of technologies related to Work Health and Safety (WHS). Learn more by reaching out via email: media @ worksafe.vic.gov.au or call 0438 786 968. Consider subscribing to our media releases for timely updates on industry compliance and safety standards.
Original article link: https://www.worksafe.vic.gov.au/news/2025-03/220000-safety-spend-after-workers-hand-entangled-conveyor