PARQUETRY Flooring has been fined $14,400 after an employee cut his hand on a circular saw.
The Adelaide-based flooring business pleased guilty to one count of breaching section 19(1) of the of the Occupational Health Safety and Welfare Act 1986, in failing to provide a safe system of work and maintain plant in a safe condition.
The charges came about from a June 2006 incident, when a male employee was using a circular saw to cut timber. During this process, the timber caught and kicked his left hand onto the blade, severely lacerating tendons, nerves and ligaments of two fingers.
According to SafeWork SA’s investigation, the machine was inadequately guarded and did not have an accessible emergency stop device. Additionally, there was insufficient training and safety analysis in the use of the machine.
The worker is expected to make a full recovery, while the company has since replaced the saw and upgraded its safety procedures.