Penalties rise over conveyor belt deaths - 17.7.25

Courts have imposed more than $800,000 in penalties since mid-March, in response to workers being killed on unsafe conveyor belts in the manufacturing industry.

Timaru director Sean Sloper and his company Point Lumber Limited are the latest to be jointly sentenced over the death of a young worker, Ethyn McTier. The 23-year-old was working near a conveyor belt, when he became entrapped in its drive roller in November 2022.

WorkSafe’s investigation found there was no guarding to protect workers along the length of the conveyor belt, or in the area where the victim was drawn in, nor had a risk assessment been done. A range of other machine safety defects were also found onsite. Point Lumber also failed to follow a safety consultant’s recommendation to safeguard the conveyor back in 2017. Mr Sloper had overall control of the company, and determined what hazard mitigation was prioritised, what was completed and when.

The Timaru case has concluded after the recent sentencing of Ballance Agri-Nutrients, which also had a worker killed on a conveyor belt in Mt Maunganui.

“Endangering workers in this way is careless in the extreme, because these deaths were clearly preventable. In no way is it acceptable to be able to be killed at work on a conveyor belt,” says WorkSafe’s acting regional manager, Darren Handforth.

“The manufacturing sector must seize these two deadly incidents as a watershed moment for health and safety. We implore businesses to ensure their machine guarding meets safety standards. If necessary, engage a qualified expert to ensure your machinery is adequately guarded to avoid inflicting further tragedy on other families,” says Darren Handforth.

Guarding involves installing physical barriers and/or safety devices to prevent workers from accessing exposed moving parts on machinery.

Manufacturing is a focus of WorkSafe’s new strategy because there is persistent harm in the sector. In March this year, we conducted 304 proactive assessments nationwide in the sector and issued improvement notices in 67 percent of them – signalling the progress left to make by the industry.

Businesses must manage their risks and where they don’t, WorkSafe will take action. This is part of WorkSafe’s role to influence businesses to meet their responsibilities and keep people healthy and safe.

Source: safetysolutions.net.au