(New Zealand) WorkSafe New Zealand is again urging the forestry sector to reflect on what more it can do to improve safety, as the details of yet another worker death emerge from a court prosecution.
Jake Duncan was fatally struck when a log came loose and hurtled 325 metres down a hill at Tangoio, north of Napier, in June 2021. The 23-year-old was doing work known as breaking out, where felled logs are connected to a hauling machine for extraction.
The log had been put in place as a “plug” which acted as a bridge for other logs to slide over, until it gave way with tragic consequences. This uncommon method is known as plugging and bridging.
The pre-harvest risk assessment only listed two hazards for the entire site, and did not properly consider the risks of the plugged log dislodging. The company should also have had better controls in place to minimise the risk of workers like Jake Duncan being struck.
These health and safety failures led to WorkSafe charging Mr. Duncan’s employer, Logged on Logging 2020 Limited for breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015.
In a reserved decision, the Napier District Court has ordered Logged on Logging to pay reparations of $332,187.
Another company, Forest Management (NZ) Limited, was sentenced in late 2023 for its health and safety failures unrelated to the death.
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