What happened?
WorkSafe reported on two separate incidents involving Silver Fern Farms and Ecostore. In one incident, two workers were hospitalised after inhaling a hazardous substance while cleaning a plant. In the other, a worker suffered permanent eye injuries when a pressurised hose came loose and hazardous liquid sprayed during manufacturing.
Both businesses completed enforceable undertakings. These are legally binding agreements that can be accepted as an alternative to prosecution. Together, the businesses invested more than $490,000 in improvements, worker support and industry learning.
The failures were practical, not theoretical
The incidents involved everyday work: cleaning equipment, handling chemicals, using hoses and relying on PPE and emergency arrangements. WorkSafe identified shortcomings that included chemical safety management, worker training, PPE and emergency response.
That matters for SMEs because these risks are not limited to large factories. Farms, workshops, trades, horticulture businesses, transport operators, cleaners and small manufacturers may all store or use fuels, solvents, acids, alkalis, agrichemicals, detergents, paints or other hazardous products.
What changed after the incidents?
The businesses introduced measures such as safer chemical dispensing, improved handling methods, stronger PPE controls, extra training, better first-aid arrangements and equipment designed to reduce spills and splashes. They also shared lessons with their industries.
These are sensible controls, but the best time to introduce them is before somebody is injured.
Seven checks every SME owner should make
- Know what is on site. Keep an accurate hazardous-substance inventory showing the product, quantity, location and key hazards.
- Keep current safety data sheets. Workers and emergency responders need quick access to the right information.
- Assess the actual task. Look at how products are transferred, mixed, sprayed, cleaned up and disposed of—not just how they sit on a shelf.
- Control pressure and connection failures. Inspect hoses, fittings, pumps and dispensing equipment. Use suitable equipment and replace damaged parts before work continues.
- Train for the work being done. Workers should understand the hazards, safe method, required controls and what to do when something changes or goes wrong.
- Make PPE specific and usable. Choose PPE for the substance and task, check fit and condition, and make sure it supports rather than replaces safer equipment and handling methods.
- Prepare for exposure. Check eyewash, emergency showers, spill equipment, first aid, isolation steps and emergency information. People must know where these controls are and how to use them.
Do not wait for an incident to test the system
A policy can look complete while the real job remains unsafe. Walk through a normal chemical task with the worker who performs it. Ask where a splash, leak, vapour release, wrong connection or equipment failure could occur. Then confirm that the controls are present, maintained and understood.
Near misses are also valuable warnings. A leaking hose, damaged container, missing label or empty eyewash bottle should trigger action before the same weakness causes harm.
A short action plan for business owners
- Choose the three chemical tasks with the greatest potential for serious harm.
- Observe each task and speak with the people who do it.
- Check the inventory and safety data sheets against what is actually held.
- Record missing, damaged or unclear controls and assign an owner and due date.
- Fix urgent exposure risks immediately and verify that each action is completed.
- Review the system whenever products, equipment, quantities or work methods change.
How ChemMatrix can help
ChemMatrix provides practical hazardous-substance consultancy for New Zealand farms, trades and industrial workplaces. We can help build or review your inventory, organise current SDS records, assess storage and handling, check spill and emergency arrangements, and turn gaps into a prioritised action plan.
The aim is a system your people can use: clear information, realistic controls and evidence that the important actions have been completed.
Read the original story: WorkSafe New Zealand — Manufacturing businesses invest $490k into hazardous substances safety following worker harm.