Manufacturing businesses invest $490k into hazardous substances safety following worker harm

An enforceable undertaking (EU) is a legally binding agreement that serves as an alternative to prosecution.

Under an EU, a business accepts responsibility for a health and safety failure and commits to improving health and safety practices in its workplace. The business must also share lessons learned with the wider industry and make amends to victims, either through financial compensation or other agreed forms of remediation.

These EUs highlight the importance of managing one of manufacturing’s most significant health and safety risks.

The first, involving the meat processor Silver Fern Farms, follows a 2022 incident where two workers were hospitalised after inhaling a hazardous substance while cleaning the company’s Hokitika plant.

WorkSafe’s investigation found the company failed to ensure worker safety while a cleaning chemical was being used.

Silver Fern Farms has now completed more than $170,000 worth of improvements, including safer chemical dispensing systems, hazardous substances training, stronger chemical first-aid arrangements, personal protective equipment (PPE) improvements, and an industry-wide programme to share lessons learned. It also paid reparations to the victims.

The EU for the cleaning products manufacturer Ecostore follows a 2023 incident in which a worker suffered permanent eye injuries after being sprayed with a hazardous liquid when a pressurised hose came loose during dishwasher powder manufacturing.

WorkSafe’s investigation found shortcomings in the company’s chemical safety management, including PPE, worker training, and emergency management arrangements.

Ecostore has now completed more than $323,000 in health and safety improvements, including changes to chemical handling processes, stronger PPE controls, additional worker training, and new equipment designed to reduce spills and splash hazards.

The company also provided financial amends to the injured worker and shared its learnings with industry through workshops, case studies and other initiatives.

WorkSafe’s Head of Regulatory Services Tracey Conlon says the enforcement reflects the seriousness of the risk.

“Hazardous substances are a significant health and safety risk in manufacturing because exposure to some substances can cause serious injury, illness, or long-term health problems.

“When carrying out inspections at manufacturing businesses our inspectors have seen significant gaps in safe management of hazardous substances, whether that’s understanding the risks, ensuring workers have the right training and protective equipment, or knowing how to respond if something goes wrong.”

Tracey Conlon says the actions completed under these EUs demonstrate the value of learning from incidents and sharing those lessons with others.

“Both Silver Fern Farms and Ecostore undertook significant programmes of work to improve how hazardous substances are managed in their workplaces.

“One of the strengths of the EU process is that it creates opportunities for practical lessons to be shared across an entire sector. The aim is not only to address harm at one workplace, but to help prevent similar incidents elsewhere.”

Inadequate hazardous substances management is not unique to manufacturing.

Recent WorkSafe assessments of hundreds of agricultural and horticultural businesses found it was a common issue for those industries too.

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