Severed fingers lead to $100k fine for repeat offender

A recidivist Melbourne food manufacturer has been convicted and fined another $100,000 after a worker’s fingers were severed in a large mixing machine.

According to WorkSafe, Makmur Enterprises was sentenced in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Wednesday, 16 October, pleading guilty to a single charge of failing to provide a safe working environment.

The company, a repeat offender, was also ordered to pay $21,739 in costs.

Back in August 2021, a worker was cleaning the large ribbon mixer and opened an interlocked gate to gain access to the discharge area.

However, the worker did not notice that the interlock failed, and the machine continued to operate, so when he reached his hand in to remove debris, his middle and index fingers made contact with the blades in the mixing chamber and were subsequently amputated.

The worker was taken to hospital and had surgery to reattach his fingers cut off by the blades.

WorkSafe’s investigation discovered that the interlock’s sensor became faulty after electrical components had come into contact with water.

Another independent risk assessment of the mixer also found the interlock gate to the discharge area failed to meet the required Australian standard, which would have meant that even if the sensor had failed, the interlock would still have functioned to prevent access to the danger area.

Therefore, the court found that it was reasonably practicable for Makmur Enterprises to have interlock guarding that met Australian standards so the mixer could not operate while a worker was accessing the discharge area.

To worsen the situation, the court heard the company had been prosecuted four times previously since 2013 over incidents where workers had been injured by inadequately guarded plants, resulting in more than $264,000 in fines and costs.

WorkSafe executive director of health and safety Sam Jenkin said that repeatedly failing to protect workers from well-known health and safety risks would result in significant penalties.

“This shocking incident has had a significant impact on the injured worker, and no doubt also greatly affected the fellow workers who came to his aid,” said Jenkin.

“At the very least, this company’s poor safety record should make it aware of the risks and potential consequences to workers when guarding is inadequate, so the fact that Makmur has continually failed to provide a safe workplace is incredibly disappointing.”