WORKSAFE Victoria says it has prosecuted two abattoirs and their contract cleaning companies after two cleaners suffered debilitating arm injuries.
The companies were prosecuted under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 for inadequate staff training and unguarded machinery.
Ararat Abattoirs was convicted and fined $20,000, while Western Contracting was convicted and fined $55,000. They were pursued by WorkSafe Victoria over a 2008 incident where a contract cleaner’s arm was caught in a conveyer as he reached in to retrieve a piece of meat.
In February, Midfield Meat and Hygiene Control were similarly prosecuted, after a 2007 incident where a worker’s arm was dragged into an unguarded conveyor. The cleaning company was fined $25,000, and the abattoir was fined $35,000.
According to WorkSafe Victoria, both incidents showed similar failings. Both cleaning contractor companies had failed to provide training and instruction to staff on how to clean dangerous machinery. They also did not enforce procedures to ‘lock out and tag out’ machines prior to cleaning.
Additionally, the abattoirs both had guarding failures. Ararat Abattoirs’ viseration conveyor had removable guards which allowed access to the danger area of the conveyor; and there were small holes on each side of the unguarded Midfield Meat conveyer where cleaners could access hazardous moving parts with their hands.
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