Company to pay record reparation over death in rotary milking shed

Wednesday 26 May 2004

A Balclutha company was today fined $35,000 and ordered to pay $50,000 in reparation after the death last year of dairy farmer Chris Welch.

The $85,000 total is the highest ever amount paid out by a single company under the Health and Safety in Employment Act, and $50,000 is the highest reparation order made.

In the Gore District Court today, Clutha Chain Mesh Products Ltd was sentenced on a charge of failing to install or arrange the plant so that it was safe for its intended use. The company was fined $35,000, with reparation of $50,000 going to the victim's next of kin.

The Occupational Safety and Health Service (OSH) brought the charges against Clutha Chain Mesh Products Ltd, which supplied and installed a milking shed cup removal system that led to the death of Chris Welch in October 2003.

"This tragic death was totally avoidable," said OSH Southland Service Manager John Pannett. "New technology is vital for New Zealand's competitiveness, but it must be safe."

The automatic cup removal system involved in this incident is an innovative development that reduces the labour needed in the milking shed.

Mr Pannett says suppliers and installers of machinery have duties under Health and Safety in Employment Act to ensure that the equipment they provide is safe.

"In this case the system was simply not safe to use - the company failed to meet their obligations and a farmer and his family suffered the tragic consequences.

"All dairy farmers with rotary milking systems should have a fresh look at their sheds. In particular where there are trapping points present, farmers should contact the manufacturer or supplier to have these made safe," he says.

A group has been set up which includes the Agricultural Health and Safety Council, OSH, and farmers' and manufacturers' representatives to look at the issue of safety in rotary milking sheds. The group will meet for the first time in Invercargill on 9 June.

The accident is a reminder of the need for anyone supplying equipment to ensure it is safe to use.

"A trip to the milking shed shouldn't become a matter of life and death," said Mr Pannett.