Paper Australia Pty Ltd was sentenced in the Latrobe Valley Magistrates' Court on Thursday 20 March after pleading guilty to a single charge of failing to provide and maintain a safe working environment.
The company was also ordered to pay $10,000 in costs.
The court heard a piece of machinery at Paper Australia's facility in Morwell used to cut large rolls of paper into smaller width rolls required two people to operate it - the machine operator and an assistant.
The assistant's role was based at the end of the machine where a danger zone, consisting of slitter blocks and partially guarded slitter knives, was located.
In January 2023, a worker was attempting to clear a blockage of paper being threaded into the machine when her arm made contact with a slitter block and was knocked into the danger zone.
After pulling her arm out of the machine, the worker saw a serious laceration on her forearm approximately 10 centimetres long, six centimetres wide, and two centimetres deep.
The worker was taken to hospital and required surgery.
WorkSafe's investigation found that the machine was fitted with interlocked guarding to prevent access by workers while it was running, but these were disabled because of the manual nature of the threading process.
The court found it was reasonably practicable for Paper Australia to provide and maintain a system of work which required the slitter block drives to be switched off at the machine's control panel, and the slitter blocks to be wound down to a stop before employees entered the gated area surrounding the machine.
WorkSafe Executive Director of Health and Safety Sam Jenkin said the risk of serious injury to workers operating the machine was readily apparent and should have been controlled.
"This company implemented a much safer system of work for this machine just days after the incident occurred - but it shouldn't have taken a serious injury to get to that point," Mr Jenkin said.
"Every employer has an obligation to proactively identify hazards in their workplace and control the risk before an incident or injury occurs."
To manage risks when working with machinery employers should:
- Identify hazards, assess the risks associated with them and eliminate or control those risks by isolating them or using an alternative.
- Train staff in the safe operation of machines and equipment and provide written procedures in the worker's first language.
- Develop and implement safe operating procedures in consultation with employees and health and safety representatives.
- Ensure safety guards and gates are compliant and fixed to machines at all times.
Regularly service and inspect machines and equipment.
- Place signs on or near a machine to alert employees of the dangers of operating it.
