Logistics and transport company Kuehne + Nagel Limited has been sentenced for a forklift accident injuring a worker.
It follows an incident at the company’s Mangere site in 2016 where a truck driver collecting goods was struck and pinned by a moving forklift and sustained seven fractures to his left foot.
Kuehne + Nagel Limited were fined $252,000 and ordered to pay $20,000 to the injured worker at the Manukau District Court on October 1.
WorkSafe says it’s reminding the logistics and transport sector to be vigilant of the health and safety of truck drivers coming on and off sites following the incident.
A WorkSafe investigation found that Kuehne + Nagel had not established or communicated any safe system of work with the truck driver.
While they did have some systems in place, the truck driver was not aware of them and they were not enforced, leaving them “ineffective in managing the risk of a pedestrian being struck by moving plant”, WorkSafe says.
WorkSafe’s deputy general manager for investigations and specialist services Simon Humphries says the company failed to ensure the health and safety of the worker.
“The site was busy with more than 100 trucks coming in to deliver and collect goods each day. Kuehne + Nagel had a responsibility under the Health and Safety at Work Act for those truck drivers and other workers coming onto their site.”
“Forklifts are difficult to manoeuvre, they are frequently loaded to the point where visibility is compromised and they can be deadly when pedestrians are involved. Traffic management should be a paramount health and safety concern for businesses using them and for those with vehicles moving on, off and around your workplace,” Humphries says.
Another company, Cardinal Logistics Limited, is due to appear for sentencing in the Christchurch District Court on Friday, October 5 following a separate forklift related incident.
