April 4, 2012 - 3:29PM
A WA farmer has been fined $20,000 over an incident at his property which resulted in a female farm hand's arm being amputated.
John Bylsma, the operator of Minnikin Farm at Munglinup, pleaded guilty to failing to provide and maintain a safe work environment and, by that failure, causing serious harm to an employee.
He was fined $20,000 and forced to pay $10,000 costs in the Perth Magistrates Court last month.
The incident took place in February 2008 when the farm hand was operating a grain roller mill driven by a power take off unit, attached to a tractor, to distribute grain to feed bins.
The court heard the guard had been removed from the mill.
The feed adjustment lever was located in a central position, requiring the operator to lean over the top of the rotating drive line if they wanted to adjust the feed flow rate. The worker was aware that the guard had been removed from the mill.
While operating the mill, the worker reached over to adjust a lever, which she had to push away from herself with some force.
Her jacket became entangled in the unguarded belt drive and she was dragged onto the drive unit, suffering multiple arm and leg injuries including amputation of her right arm.
WorkSafe WA Commissioner Lex McCulloch said today that the case provided a stark reminder of the importance of guarding the moving parts of machinery.
"The court heard that it was practicable for the employer to have ensured that the grain roller mill was operated only when adequate guards were in place, especially on the PTO shaft," Mr McCulloch said.
"This young woman was seriously and permanently injured because her employer failed to provide her with a safe working environment, contrary to his duty of care.
"It is always disappointing when WorkSafe has to take prosecution action against an employer over a lack of guarding on machinery because guards should be one of the most basic safety measures taken in a workplace.
"Guarding of the moving parts of machinery is still one of the easiest and most obvious means of minimising the risk of injury to machinery operators, and I strongly urge employers in workplaces with machinery to ensure that it is safe to operate.
"A code of practice on safeguarding of machinery and plant is available, and should be obtained by employers and kept in all workplaces that contain machinery with hazardous moving parts."
Read more: http://www.watoday.com.au/wa-news/farmer-fined-20000-after-worker-loses-her-arm-20120404-1wcg7.html#ixzz1r4Xh89qk
A WA farmer has been fined $20,000 over an incident at his property which resulted in a female farm hand's arm being amputated.
John Bylsma, the operator of Minnikin Farm at Munglinup, pleaded guilty to failing to provide and maintain a safe work environment and, by that failure, causing serious harm to an employee.
He was fined $20,000 and forced to pay $10,000 costs in the Perth Magistrates Court last month.
The incident took place in February 2008 when the farm hand was operating a grain roller mill driven by a power take off unit, attached to a tractor, to distribute grain to feed bins.
The court heard the guard had been removed from the mill.
The feed adjustment lever was located in a central position, requiring the operator to lean over the top of the rotating drive line if they wanted to adjust the feed flow rate. The worker was aware that the guard had been removed from the mill.
While operating the mill, the worker reached over to adjust a lever, which she had to push away from herself with some force.
Her jacket became entangled in the unguarded belt drive and she was dragged onto the drive unit, suffering multiple arm and leg injuries including amputation of her right arm.
WorkSafe WA Commissioner Lex McCulloch said today that the case provided a stark reminder of the importance of guarding the moving parts of machinery.
"The court heard that it was practicable for the employer to have ensured that the grain roller mill was operated only when adequate guards were in place, especially on the PTO shaft," Mr McCulloch said.
"This young woman was seriously and permanently injured because her employer failed to provide her with a safe working environment, contrary to his duty of care.
"It is always disappointing when WorkSafe has to take prosecution action against an employer over a lack of guarding on machinery because guards should be one of the most basic safety measures taken in a workplace.
"Guarding of the moving parts of machinery is still one of the easiest and most obvious means of minimising the risk of injury to machinery operators, and I strongly urge employers in workplaces with machinery to ensure that it is safe to operate.
"A code of practice on safeguarding of machinery and plant is available, and should be obtained by employers and kept in all workplaces that contain machinery with hazardous moving parts."
Read more: http://www.watoday.com.au/wa-news/farmer-fined-20000-after-worker-loses-her-arm-20120404-1wcg7.html#ixzz1r4Xh89qk
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