SA flavour producer fined $41K for workplace injury

South Australian flavour producer Taste Master Pty Ltd has been fined $41,250 by SafeWork SA for failing to provide and maintain its plant in a safe condition, and failing to ensure that the plant was operated safety. The company’s sole director, Andrew Fotheringham, was fined $11,250.

The interlock device on an extruder machine at the company’s plant, which prevents the blades operating when the cutter head is open, had been disabled and was no longer operational during the manufacturing process, the court heard.

An employee using the machine released the clip securing the extrusion head against the cutter blades to clear a blockage, the court heard. The cutter blades continued rotating at 4500 rpm while the employee attempted to clear the blockage, first with heat from a propane torch, then with a scraper.

The employee sustained a complex injury when his left hand came into contact with the spinning cutter blades. He suffered skin lacerations, loss of soft tissue and tendon, and bone fractures. His ring finger was almost amputated and his little finger sustained severe tendon damage.

Despite reconstructive surgery, the employee has been left with a permanent impairment.

“A major cause of workplace injuries in South Australia ... the lack of adequate guarding that enables people to remain safe when working with moving parts,” said Bryan Russel, executive director of SafeWork SA.

“It is the responsibility of employers to be vigilant in checking that safeguards manufactured to protect employees are in place and are well maintained.”

Fotheringham was found guilty of failing to ensure that the plant was not being operated when the safety interlock supplied with the cutter was disabled.