Health and safety consultancy Safe Business Solutions (SBS) was sentenced at the New Plymouth District Court on Friday for charges laid under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015. The company was fined $70,000 and ordered to pay reparations of $28,403 for exposing an employee to a risk of serious injury.
SBS was the health and safety consultant for Westown Haulage, which employed Grant Bowling as a driver. In August 2020, Bowling was clocking off from his shift at a Taranaki haulage yard when he was struck from behind by an agricultural vehicle, which then lifted him in its bucket.
He was rendered unconscious, experienced two brain haemorrhages, a permanent loss of taste and smell, and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
A WorkSafe investigation found that SBS, which had been contracted by Westown Haulage to provide health and safety advice, had identified a “desperate need” for a traffic management plan at the site. However, SBS failed to provide the traffic management plan by the time of the collision six months later. No steps were taken to manage the risks of uncontrolled traffic, aside from a small sign about speed at the entrance.
“In this case, the consultants offered active and ongoing management of health and safety risks but did not deliver the work they said they would,” WorkSafe’s area investigation manager Paul West said.
“One-way systems, clear separation between vehicles and people, designated crossing points, and speed bumps are measures that could have avoided the incident and the very serious consequences Mr. Bowling still lives with.”
Westown was also jointly charged and ordered to pay a fine of $270,000, Bowling $50,000 in reparation, and $6,806 for other losses.
“WorkSafe’s role is to influence businesses and organisations to manage their health and safety risks to keep workers safe. If they do not manage these risks, we hold them responsible.”
“Businesses paying for specialist health and safety advice need to know both they and their consultants have responsibilities under the law. You need the right consultant helping in the right way to get the right outcomes for workers,” West said.
West also indicated that the Health and Safety Association serves as a source of professionals capable of providing expert workplace health and safety guidance.