Prosecution Details

Where under a labour hire arrangement work was carried out for remuneration by a worker for the accused who was a client of a labour hire agent, namely Skilled Group Limited, in the course of the accused's trade or business, the accused failed to, so far as practicable, provide and maintain a working environment in which the worker was not exposed to hazards, and by that failure caused serious harm to the worker; contrary to sections 23F, 19(1) and 19A(2) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1984.

1. The accused was in the business of manufacturing and supplying steel reinforcement products.

2. This work is carried out in Bestbar Pty Ltd's two sheds. One shed was known as the reo shed and the other as the mesh shed. Since at least 2000 there had been a machine in the reo shed called a radius machine.

3. On 7 January 2005 "A" began to work for it as a labour hire worker employed as a machine operator in the rebar shed.

4. "A's" duties included operating the radius machine.

5. The radius machine manual stated that the machine had to be guarded by an interlocked guard which would shut the machine down if opened. The radius machine did not have a guard on it at all until about mid August 2005 when a guard was placed on it. However, the guard was not interlocked so the machine could operate with the guard open. Also some tasks on the radius machine could not be performed with the guard closed.

6. Prior to the date of the offence, 31 August 2005, "A" had worked on the radius machine about 15 times, and had used it to make circles about 3 or 4 times. In total he had spent about 40 or 50 hours working on the machine.

7. When he arrived for nightshift on 31 August 2005 the guard on the radius machine was open. "A" left the guard in that position because it was not possible to shape the steel bars into circles if the guard was closed.

8. By about 12.30 am "A" had used the radius to bend between 300 and 400 steel bars into circles when his glove was caught by a steel bar and his gloved had was dragged into the pinch point between the bar and the idle roller which the bar is bent around.

9. "A" pulled off his glove and saw that he had received a crush injury to the right hand which resulted in the partial amputation of three fingers which were reattached by surgical intervention.

10. Sometime after the offence an employee of Bestbar Pty Ltd manufactured and fitted a guard over the radius machine which did not allow the machine to operate if it was not closed, and which allowed steel bars to be bent into circles whilst the guard was closed.

Plead Guilty