The Christchurch District Court on Tuesday slapped a $157,500-fine on Rangiora Carpets Ltd. for failing to ensure the safety of its workers as prescribed by the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015.
The court also ordered the company to pay $20,000 to its staff member who had fallen 2.5 metres from a mezzanine floor in June last year.
This prompted
WorkSafe New Zealand to warn employers that health and safety risks abound on all structures, even those that are infrequently used.
The worker, who sustained significant injuries, fell from the mezzanine floor through a false ceiling to the floor.
The floor was being used for storage and had not been identified as a health and safety risk.
But a WorkSafe prove found that the company had failed to conduct adequate risk assessment to identify the risk of a fall from height.
Thus, it also failed to ensure appropriate controls, such as edge protection or a balustrade, were in place to protect workers from the risk of fall onto the false ceiling.
“Structures such as storage and filing facilities need to be considered for risk and have appropriate controls put in place,” WorkSafe General Manager Operations and Specialist Services, Brett Murray, said.
“Falls from height always present a significant risk. Even a fall of less than three metres can result in serious injuries or death. Identifying the need for a barrier to protect workers on the mezzanine floor was imperative to avoiding this incident.”
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