West Auckland bakery fined after workers' hands injured by machinery

A West Auckland bakery has been fined $36,000 after two workers suffered serious hand injuries in two separate incidents involving unguarded machinery.

In January 2021, a worker lost four fingers after her hand got stuck in a machine. In a separate incident later that year, a worker lost part of her finger while using a dough-dividing machine.

WorkSafe Response to Repeat Machinery Injuries

WorkSafe's area investigation manager, Danielle Henry, said, "Both of these incidents were entirely avoidable, but to harm a second worker is nothing short of reprehensible when the company was already on notice of the harm that deficient machine guarding can cause."

The company was fined at Waitakere District Court on Wednesday. This case highlights ongoing health and safety failures across New Zealand's food manufacturing sector, where inadequate machine guarding continues to put workers at risk of life-changing injuries.

Why Machine Guarding Matters for Worker Safety

Proper machine guarding remains one of the most effective controls for preventing crush and entanglement injuries in bakeries and other manufacturing settings. Employers carry a legal duty to identify hazards and implement safety measures before harm occurs, not after.

For workplaces relying on dough-dividing machines or similar equipment, having a documented safe operating procedure for guarded machinery can help reinforce correct use and reduce risk of injuries to hands and fingers.

Similar incidents reported in recent news show a pattern of preventable harm across New Zealand workplaces. Our coverage of a Victorian company fined after a worker's hand was crushed in machinery demonstrates that machine guarding failures are not isolated to one region or industry.

Pattern of Workplace Incidents in West Auckland

This bakery fine follows other troubling news from the same area, including an incident where two workers were hospitalised following an incident at a West Auckland workplace. Together, these cases point to a need for stronger safety oversight across local industries.

Elsewhere in the region, two construction workers were left in stable condition after an Auckland blast, further underscoring how quickly workplace hazards can escalate without proper controls in place.

Building a Stronger Safety Culture

For businesses operating machinery, understanding when documentation is legally required matters just as much as the equipment itself. Our guide on when you need a Safe Work Method Statement outlines the circumstances where formal risk controls become essential.

Health and safety obligations extend beyond bakeries into agriculture, construction and manufacturing alike. Businesses using heavy plant equipment can benefit from a tractor safe operating procedure template to formalise safe practices for staff.

This news serves as a reminder that safety cannot be an afterthought, particularly after a company has already been put on notice. Repeat incidents involving the same hazard, within the same year, suggest systemic gaps that documented procedures and consistent training could help close.

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