WA engineering company fined after worker lost part of his arm

WA Engineering Company Fined $200,000 After Worker Lost Part of His Arm

A WA engineering company has recently been fined $200,000 over an incident in which a worker lost part of his arm, just below the elbow. The company was fined in the Armadale Magistrates Court after pleading guilty to failing to provide a safe work environment.

Summary: This case highlights how inadequate risk management and missing safety procedures around manual lathe work led to a serious lifelong injury. Businesses operating machinery involving rotating shafts, crane equipment, or welding processes must prioritise thorough training and safe systems of work to prevent similar incidents.

What Happened During the Incident

In October 2018, the worker had been instructed to polish a steel shaft to reduce its diameter so a bearing could be slid onto it. He attached the shaft to a manual lathe, half-circling a length of emery cloth around the shaft, holding both ends in each hand while the shaft rotated.

Because the shaft was rough and sharp, the worker needed to wear gloves for protection. Once he finished handling the shaft, however, he failed to remove his gloves before beginning the polishing task. Within moments, the emery cloth and glove on his left hand became caught in the rotating lathe shaft. His left arm was amputated just below the elbow.

Findings on Workplace Safety Failures

WorkSafe Western Australia Commissioner Darren Kavanagh said the company had not conducted any risk assessments relating to polishing tasks on manual lathes, and that employees performing this work were not adequately trained.

This lack of proper safety management demonstrates why every engineering company should implement clear procedures before employees engage with rotating machinery. Comprehensive training, alongside documented risk assessments, forms a critical layer of protection for workers handling potentially hazardous equipment.

Key Lessons for Engineering and Construction Companies

Employers across construction, manufacturing, and industrial sectors can draw several important lessons from this case:

• Conduct risk assessments before assigning tasks involving lathes, crane operations, or welding equipment.
• Provide adequate training so employees understand hazards associated with rotating machinery and know how to work safely around it.
• Review PPE protocols — gloves suitable for handling sharp materials may become a serious hazard near rotating parts.
• Establish safe systems of work that are regularly reviewed and updated as tasks change.
• Prioritise health and physical wellbeing outcomes above production timelines or convenience.

Strong safety management practices are essential not only for compliance but for protecting the long-term health and livelihoods of workers. Similar incidents have occurred elsewhere, including a VIC company fined after a worker's arm became trapped in a shredder, and a separate case where a company was fined after a New Zealand worker lost an arm in a conveyor belt incident. These cases reinforce a consistent pattern: inadequate risk management around machinery consistently leads to devastating outcomes.

Building a Culture of Safety Management

Effective safety management requires more than policy documents sitting in a drawer. Businesses need active, practical systems covering everything from crane operations and welding tasks to manual lathe work and general machinery handling. Regular audits, consistent worker feedback, and updated training programs all contribute to safer outcomes. A robust worker contractor manual can help formalise these expectations across teams, ensuring contractors and employees alike understand safe work procedures before stepping onto a worksite.

Other incidents, such as one involving a Northland company fined after a worker lost part of a finger in an unguarded pressing machine, further demonstrate why guarding, lifting procedures, and machine safety checks deserve ongoing attention rather than one-off compliance efforts.

Final Thoughts

This WorkSafe prosecution serves as a stark reminder that safety management cannot be an afterthought. Engineering companies handling rotating machinery, lifting equipment, or welding processes must embed risk assessments and training into daily operations — not simply react after an incident occurs.

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