Australian Employers Fined for Tire and Rope Press Injuries to Workers

A Welshpool, Australia manufacturing company has been fined $20,000 over an incident in which an employee sustained injuries to his left arm when part of a rope press shattered and struck him.

According to the Western Australian Department of Commerce, Jeminex Brands & Operations Pty Ltd (formerly Beaver Brands) pleaded guilty to failing to provide and maintain a safe workplace and was fined in the Perth Magistrates Court recently. (WCxKit)

Jeminex Brands is a manufacturer of wire rope slings and chain slings. Using a rope press, wire rope of a required length is fed through an aluminum collar known as a “ferrule” and the ferrule is then compressed between two dies until they touch to hold the rope together.

The pressure applied by the dies is able to be varied according to the diameter of the rope, with maximum pressures stipulated in a chart of pressures in megapascals of pressure. The process is known as “swaging”.

A Jeminex employee was engaged in swaging rope. He had already completed two ropes by visually determining when the dies touched. When he swaged the third rope, the dies came together and shattered, causing lacerations to his left arm. The amount of pressure on the dies can be pre-set, and once that maximum pressure is reached, the limit switch is activated and no further pressure can be applied. The maximum pressure stipulated for the diameter of rope being used by the employee was five megapascals. The wire rope press was set at a maximum pressure of 34 megapascals.

The court heard that the employee was not instructed to check or change the maximum pressure of the wire rope press before he began the task.

It was practicable for the employer to have trained its employee to either set the press to the maximum recommended pressure or to set the pressure at a low level and increase it in small increments until the dies touched.

WorkSafe WA Commissioner Lex McCulloch said the case should serve as a reminder of the importance of training and instruction in the workplace.

“Training of new and young workers is one of WorkSafe’s operational priority areas, and a large amount of time and resources are invested in ensuring that employers provide workers with suitable and adequate induction and training,” McCulloch said.

“This worker had been with the employer for four months, and this incident made it apparent that he had not been provided with sufficient training and instruction to operate the machinery in a safe manner. (WCxKit)

“Every employer has the responsibility to provide a safe and healthy workplace; to share information and to provide training and supervision – that is part of the employer’s basic duty of care.

Australian Tire Center, Director Fined After Worker Suffers Injuries

A Yamba tire center (New South Wales, Australia) and its director have been fined a total of $170,000 and ordered to pay WorkCover’s legal costs after an employee received serious injuries while fitting new tires to an earthmover, according to a report from the WorkCover Authority of NSW.

The Lower River Tyre Centre Pty Ltd (Lower River) sells tires, wheels and batteries as well as providing tire-fitting services for a range of private, commercial and industrial vehicles. (WCxKit)

A 47-year-old Lower River tire fitter was changing six spilt rim grader tires on an earth-moving grader when one of the six tires exploded while it was being inflated.

The tires on this large commercial earthmover were around 1.4m in diameter and approximately 40cm thick.

The employee sustained serious injuries to his face and upper-body, as well as complications during surgery which required months of rehabilitation.

A WorkCover investigation found that Lower River had no adequate safety protocols in place at the time of the accident.

There was no safety cage large enough to protect the worker, nor any devices in place limiting tire pressure on larger commercial tires, which both would have reduced the risk of injuries.

The company also did not have documented OHS systems in place; failed to carry out a proper risk assessment; did not conduct formal risk assessments; and did not provide adequate or documented

training.

Lower River and its director Anthony Paul Hardacre were charged with breaches of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000. Both pleaded guilty to the charges. (WCxKit)

Lower River was convicted and fined $160,000. Anthony Hardacre was convicted and fined $10,000.

Author Robert Elliott, executive vice president, Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. has worked successfully for 20 years with many industries to reduce Workers Compensation costs, including airlines, healthcare, printing/publishing, pharmaceuticals, retail, hospitality and manufacturing. He is an editor and contributor to Workers Compensation Management Program: Reduce Costs 20% to 50%. Contact: [email protected].

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