Companies need to ensure proper precautions for work in confined spaces

Employers need to ensure their safety procedures covering work in confined spaces are up-to-date and applied on an ongoing basis, says Department of Labour Service Manager Annette Baxter.

Ms Baxter spoke today after Fletcher Concrete and Infrastructure trading as Firth was fined $45,000 in the Nelson District Court and order to pay $125,000 in reparation. Today’s sentencing follows the death of Graham Stuart Dick on 12 September 2008 after being asphyxiated by sand in a bin at the company’s Nelson plant.

Firth today pleaded guilty to one charge under the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992 of failing to take all practicable steps to ensure Mr Dick was not exposed to hazards while at work.

Ms Baxter says Mr Dick had gone inside a bin to clean it when he was engulfed by the sand and asphyxiated.

“The bin was a confined space and was therefore a significant hazard. Firth should have marked it as such but did not. Also, access into the bin should have been prevented while the machine was in operation.”

Ms Baxter says work in confined space exposes employees to many potential dangers, such as hazardous atmospheres, asphyxiation or engulfment. “Before workers undertake work in such circumstances, these hazards need to been identified and then all practicable steps need to be taken to eliminate, isolate or minimise them.”

Mr Baxter says companies with a confined space policy need to ensure they are actively and continuously implemented. “Had this happened at the Firth site, Mr Dick may still be alive.

“While, the prosecution has achieved a good result, the Department of Labour knows it will never compensate a family for the loss of a loved husband and father. On average one New Zealander dies every week from a work-related accident. Most of these deaths are preventable. The Department believes that by spreading the safety message and keeping workplaces safe that other New Zealand families can be spared tragedies like this.”

ENDS

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