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Health and Safety at Work Act (HSWA) Stories - Page 7

Kiwi Stories

Health and Safety at Work Act (HSWA) stories

Six tonne truck rolls onto trainee
Risk & Compliance

Six tonne truck rolls onto trainee

A trainee was crushed and badly injured when a truck rolled off wooden blocks in an unsupervised workshop job, exposing safety failings.

By Michael Curreen • 2 min read • Wed, 3rd Jun 2020
Fix that ‘accident waiting to happen’ before it’s too late
Risk & Compliance

Fix that ‘accident waiting to happen’ before it’s too late

Workers were exposed to a risk of death or serious injury after a known faulty gate injured two men and triggered a near-$271,000 fine.

By Michael Curreen • 2 min read • Fri, 29th May 2020
Government scraps low-risk building consents
Construction

Government scraps low-risk building consents

Homeowners could save NZD $18 million a year as councils drop consents for sheds, carports and other low-risk work from August.

By Staff Writer • 6 min read • Wed, 27th May 2020
$63k in fines due to unsafe work from heights
Law

$63k in fines due to unsafe work from heights

Repeated breaches of WorkSafe notices led to a total GBP £63,000 in fines after workers were left exposed to deadly falls.

By Michael Curreen • 4 min read • Wed, 20th May 2020
Does your business comply with Level 2 regulations?
Data Protection

Does your business comply with Level 2 regulations?

Businesses must review hygiene, distancing and contact-tracing controls as thousands return to work under Alert Level 2.

By Michael Curreen • 14 min read • Wed, 13th May 2020
DHB avoids prosecution for patient fall
Risk & Compliance

DHB avoids prosecution for patient fall

WorkSafe has halted prosecution after Hawke’s Bay District Health Board pledged new safety measures following a 2018 patient-lifter fall.

By Michael Curreen • 2 min read • Mon, 16th Mar 2020
Log firm sentenced after fatality
Risk & Compliance

Log firm sentenced after fatality

A worker's death has led to a GBP £195,000 fine and GBP £65,000 in reparations after unsafe log-handling practices breached safety rules.

By Michael Curreen • 2 min read • Tue, 3rd Mar 2020
Time to toughen up and close the loopholes
Risk & Compliance

Time to toughen up and close the loopholes

Risk-averse directors could face personal liability as Worksafe New Zealand weighs tougher action after a worker was left quadriplegic.

By Michael Curreen • 8 min read • Tue, 3rd Mar 2020
Prepare your workplace to guard against Covid-19
Human Capital Management

Prepare your workplace to guard against Covid-19

Employers in New Zealand are urged to plan for staff isolation, pay and closures as coronavirus risks grow.

By Michael Curreen • 4 min read • Mon, 24th Feb 2020
Company fined $108,000 for demolishing building with asbestos
Risk & Compliance

Company fined $108,000 for demolishing building with asbestos

Asbestos risks were ignored during demolition, leaving workers and the public exposed and prompting a NZD $108,000 court penalty.

By Michael Curreen • 2 min read • Thu, 6th Feb 2020
Are Enforceable Undertakings worthwhile?
Health and Safety

Are Enforceable Undertakings worthwhile?

The case has led to safer procedures, better interpretation support and wider industry training after a worker was crushed on a glass-cutting machine.

By Michael Curreen • 4 min read • Sun, 2nd Feb 2020
Are your contractors competent?
Risk & Compliance

Are your contractors competent?

Companies can face serious penalties if they hire untrained contractors, after a forestry worker suffered major chest injuries in Waitakere.

By Michael Curreen • 3 min read • Tue, 14th Jan 2020
A new era for safety training in Dunedin
Risk & Compliance

A new era for safety training in Dunedin

Construction firms in the south will get more local support as new purpose-built training rooms open in Dunedin.

By Michael Curreen • 3 min read • Fri, 13th Dec 2019
Student and teacher injured on falling scaffold
Risk & Compliance

Student and teacher injured on falling scaffold

Lack of height-safety procedures left a teacher and student unconscious after a scaffold toppled during school lighting setup.

By Michael Curreen • 3 min read • Mon, 28th Oct 2019
How to ace your next safety audit
Risk & Compliance

How to ace your next safety audit

Regular safety audits are helping construction firms lift compliance, with Site Safe warning many still lag on new hazard rules and reporting.

By Michael Curreen • 6 min read • Wed, 9th Oct 2019
Companies sentenced after tree falls on children
Risk & Compliance

Companies sentenced after tree falls on children

Auckland childcare and property firms were fined after a dead tree crushed a playground, injuring four toddlers and a teacher.

By Michael Curreen • 3 min read • Wed, 2nd Oct 2019
Worker left paralysed after company failed to train him
Risk & Compliance

Worker left paralysed after company failed to train him

A North Island firm has been fined and ordered to pay reparation after an untrained worker was left paralysed in a boom lift fall.

By Michael Curreen • 2 min read • Wed, 25th Sep 2019
Asbestos went undetected in botched demolition
Risk & Compliance

Asbestos went undetected in botched demolition

Neighbours were endangered and a wheelchair user trapped when a demolition error caused a gas leak and asbestos exposure risks.

By Michael Curreen • 4 min read • Tue, 10th Sep 2019
Company sentenced after unsupervised worker hit by felled tree
Risk & Compliance

Company sentenced after unsupervised worker hit by felled tree

WorkSafe said trainee crews lacked supervision and safety gear, after an inexperienced forestry worker was knocked unconscious by a felled tree.

By Michael Curreen • 3 min read • Thu, 5th Sep 2019