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Young father crushed in conveyor: recycling firm fine

Poorly maintained machine led to the death of a worker and a $140,000 fine.

21 Mar 2024

Gaby Grammeno

Contributor

When a shredder in a Brisbane recycling facility kept blocking and needing to be cleared by hand, a worker died when he inadvertently activated the conveyor while leaning into it to clear a blockage.

The shredding machine was used to process waste material. Workers loaded the waste into a hopper from which it was drawn into the shredder by rotating shafts and torn into smaller pieces by the teeth passing between the combs.

After passing through a chute, the shredded waste passed under a three-tonne magnetic conveyor to remove ferrous material (steel), and the remainder was transported along and dropped onto the ground.

The shredder was operated by a remote control device that was fitted with a strap and worn slung around the neck of the worker. The remote had three toggle switches in a row along the top, including one for adjusting the height of the magnetic conveyor. There was also a red stop button in the centre.

The machine was poorly maintained – most of its ‘teeth’ were non-operational and due to be replaced. The lack of teeth reduced the machine’s ability to shred the material, which often got stuck and caused a blockage.

To clear a blockage, a worker had to lean in under the overhead magnetic conveyor and reach into the internal part of the shredder via the discharge chute to pull out waste material that was stuck.

The incident happened during the night shift on 22 January 2021. Two unsupervised workers were rostered on to work in the shed with the shredder, but one of them became so frustrated with the repeated blockages that he left the workplace.

At about 1:30am, the shredder blocked again. The worker who’d remained on the job put the shredder into manual mode, and leaned into the internal area of the shredder, underneath the overhead magnetic conveyor. The remote toggle switch for the conveyor inadvertently activated, causing the magnetic conveyor to lower onto him and crush him against the body of the shredder. He was found in this position sometime after 2:00am by a worker from a different area of the workplace.

No safe work procedures

The investigation revealed that the business had not conducted a risk assessment relating to the shredder, there was no documented process or written instruction to workers as to how to clear a blockage, workers had received no training in how to clear blockages, and the shredder’s operating manual contained an error – it said that the magnetic conveyor was not operational if the shredder was in manual mode. This error was only discovered later, after the fatal accident.

The only safety measure was an undocumented procedure to ‘lockout and tagout’ the shredder before working on it. The deceased worker had not adhered to this, and there were no secondary safety measures.

The recycling company was charged with breach of sections 19 (‘Primary duty of care’) and 32 (‘Failure to comply with health and safety duty–category 2’) of Queensland’s Work Health and Safety Act 2011. The case was heard in the Brisbane Magistrates Court.

In court

Magistrate Megan Power heard that after the incident, the company had formalised its procedures and made a number of modifications to the shredding machine. The magnetic conveyor was removed, steel braces and a new ribbed belt were installed on the discharge conveyor, a hinged shroud was placed over the toggle switches on the remote, and some repairs were made to the shafts and side combs inside the shredder.

Magistrate Power read the four Victim Impact Statements provided by the deceased worker’s partner, their two daughters, and his brother. She noted that their lives are forever altered by the incident, and that it could have been prevented.

In mitigation, the company had no prior convictions and entered a guilty plea. The business owner had expressed remorse, given $10,000 to the worker’s family and paid the funeral costs, though it was subsequently reimbursed for these costs by WorkCover.

Magistrate Power did not record a conviction but ordered the recycling company to pay a fine of $140,000.

What it means for employers

Poor maintenance of potentially dangerous machinery, as well as no risk assessment, no safe operating procedures and no training, combine to greatly raise the risk of harm to workers.