WorkSafe NZ has fined Champion Flour Milling Ltd $310,000 after a worker was paralysed from the waist down when she fell 3.7m at its Christchurch plant.
In July 2018, the worker fell from an "unsafe fixed platform and unsecured ladder" she was using to undertake maintenance on a grain conveyor.
WorkSafe says it investigated the life-changing incident "and discovered multiple safety failings".
"The platform had no guard rails or permanent access and didn’t meet industry standards," WorkSafe said in statement today.
"The worker was also required to wear a harness. However, there were no rated anchor points for her to attach to."
WorkSafe said the failings were obvious.
"Fundamentally, businesses need to ensure that plant is safe.
"Having health and safety policies and procedures will not protect workers unless they’re fully and effectively implemented, so engineering controls have to be considered first.
WorkSafe also found that while Champion had policies and procedures for working at height, they were not effectively implemented, WorkSafe chief inspector Steve Kelly said.
"A worker now faces a very different life because Champion did not meet its obligations to her.”
WorkSafe prosecuted Champion for its failings and a reserved judgment was released last month.
The court imposed a fine of $310,000 and ordered reparation of $100,000.
Champion Flour Milling Ltd was sentenced under sections 36(1)(a), 48(1) and (2)(c) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015.
