Titan Australia sentenced after machine pierces Mildura worker’s hand

An inexperienced worker’s hand was pierced by a machine he was asked to use because of staff absences at a Mildura tyre manufacturer.

A Mildura tyre manufacturer will fork out thousands of dollars in fines after an inexperienced worker had his hand pierced by machinery.

Titan Australia was sentenced in Mildura Magistrates Court in late October for matters related to a workplace injury at its Mildura site.

According to WorkSafe, on September 18, 2019, a worker was asked to take charge of two machines he usually did not use.

It was the man’s first time using the machines since his basic training three years earlier, but he was assigned to them because of staff absences on the day.

The operation of the lathes, which are designed to rotate workpieces attached to them, involved using three unlabelled foot pedals.

Pressing the wrong pedal would put a worker at risk of serious injury.

In this case the victim was shown how to start and stop the lathe, but was not afterwards supervised while he used it.

When he began to work, the man went to push a piece of steel into the machinery, but pressed the wrong pedal so that another part of the machine, called the tail stock, pierced through the back of his right hand.

A colleague had to release the man, and he required two surgeries and five weeks off work as a result of his injuries.

While WorkSafe investigated, several other unreported incidents from 2018 and 2019 transpired.

Titan pleaded guilty to charges related to failing to provide proper training and supervision, failing to notify WorkSafe of workplace incidents, and failing to preserve the site of an incident.

The company was sentenced without conviction and made to pay an aggregate fine of $25,000

and costs of $3,756.