How A Recent Horrific Meatworks Injury Could Have Been Prevented

In this blog we delve into a recent safety news story, “Meatworks’ Oversights Led to Horrific Injury”. Headlines such as these are an all too familiar feature of our modern newscape.

As leaders in the machine safety industry we are passionate about ensuring workplaces are safe, and it’s frustrating to see avoidable safety incidents still occurring in Australasian workplaces. In this article we’ll examine what could have been done to prevent such an injury, including the importance of training, the problem with the ‘buddy system’, the dangerous disconnect between operators and managers, and the need for regular safety checks and reporting. Through these topics, we aim to shed light on practices that keep our accident rates higher than they should be.

What went wrong at Progressive Meats Limited?

This meatworks incident occurred while using a lamb brisket cutter at Progressive Meats Limited in Hastings in October 2020. The injured worker, Alesana Baker, just 17 years old, had only been on the job for two weeks after recently leaving high school.

Mr Baker had been trained via the ‘buddy system’ a common occurrence in the food manufacturing industry. Mr Baker’s training buddy had started on the job the same day as him, and demonstrated how to use the machine with one hand. This was incorrect use for a lamb brisket cutter, which must – if functionining correctly can only be used with two hands. Mr Baker followed this incorrect instruction and while doing so, his right hand was struck by the brisket cutter blades, resulting in an injury that partially amputated his thumb, index finger, middle finger and ring finger.

Supervisors, senior management, and the company owners were unaware of the brisket cutter being used single-handedly and, until this incident, did not believe it could be used in such a way.

How could this injury have been prevented?

As outlined below this injury could have been prevented by proper training, and supervision, improved communication and understanding between senior management and operators, as well as regular safety checks on the equipment…

The importance of the right training.

1. Operator Competence

Proper, and effective training ensures that machine operators have the necessary knowledge and skills to operate the equipment safely. It familiarises them with the specific hazards associated with the machines they work with and and the required preventive measures such as the two handed control system for using this lamb brisket cutter. In this case, if the new employee had received proper training, by someone competent in the equipment and its hazards before commencing work, the injury could have been entirely avoided – as the faulty two hand control could have been reported. Those in training positions should have some training/qualification to deliver training to adults. The trainer’s position should allow them to closely monitor staff under training, they can’t do that if they are working on the line.

2. The Buddy System, And Why It Erodes Site Safety

The buddy system, despite its intentions, can potentially erode site safety, particularly because it can pass on bad habits from one worker to another. When individuals rely solely on their buddy for guidance, they may unknowingly inherit their partner’s unsafe practices or shortcuts. This seems to be the case in this meatworks injury. The buddy’s poor cutter use, and lack of safety understanding, was transferred to the other worker, perpetuating a cycle of unsafe actions. Instead of the subjective buddy system, a rigorous, impartial and clear plan for safety training should have been adhered to.

3. The Disconnect Between Operators and Managers

It was clear in this particular case that Senior Management were unaware of the unsafe practices being carried out onsite.
Communication: There was a lack of effective communication between operators, supervisors and then managers, and therefore important safety information, guidelines, or updates were not effectively conveyed to the operators – for example – how to use the Brisket Cutter or upwards to Management that the two hand controls were not working.

4. The Importance of Regular Safety Checks and Accessibility to Subsequent Reports

WorkSafe cited poor training and supervision as the main reasons for this incident occurring which we would agree with. Additionally – in our experience a Lamb Brisket cutter should not be able to be operated with one hand. The vast majority of these tools we have seen across the NZ Meat industry have a two hand control system that has anti-tie down features to prevent a trigger being tapped in the activate position.  The design of this two hand control system is such that over time, with many activations they can fail and not always fail safe. Because of this it is imperative that structured pre-use checks are carried out with units replaced if any deviation in operation is detected. While we don’t know the exact details of the brisket cutter involved in this event – for all operations using lamb brisket cutters a pre-use safety check is completed and documented. If testing found a faulty unit a replacement unit costs ~$15,000 which is substantially less than the total costs incurred by all parties so back up units need to also be available.

From the points outlined above it is clear this particular food manufacturing site missed several easy safety wins. Training, safety checks and adequate supervision are not difficult measures to put in place. So why did they not happen in this case, and in many other preventative injury cases we see in our industry? 

The answer? The perception of on-site safety being costly and unachievable persists. And it’s this incorrect perception that leads to a level of ambivalence that allows injuries like this to keep occurring. 

The reality is that the cost of hazard assessing the entire plant would have been measurably less than the fine they received, and Mr Baker would not have experienced such an horrific injury with lifetime implications – on his first couple of weeks on the job. 

Is workplace safety keeping you up at night? Keep your team safe, avoid penalties, get in touch with us today.