Chemical safety relies on meaningful cooperation

Avoidable workplace death results in enforceable undertaking

Worksafe New Zealand has accepted an enforceable undertaking in hopes that it will improve site safety

60-year-old truck driver Gratten Layne was standing at the rear of his truck, when he was struck and killed by a loader driven by another worker at the Hampton Downs landfill in March 2020.

WorkSafe considers the following could reduce the risk of harm in similar circumstances: • having a site-specific traffic management plan that separates

vehicles and pedestrians • providing radar or sensor equipment to alert pedestrians and drivers when they are within danger of each other • increased engagement with workers to identify and manage risks at dynamic work sites.

As an alternative to prosecution, WorkSafe has accepted an enforceable undertaking put forward by Mr Layne’s employer, EnviroWaste Services Limited (EnviroWaste). This is a legally binding commitment which includes: • reparations to Gratten Layne’s family • an artificial intelligence technology initiative in health and safety • the development and implementation of a methodology to better

understand dynamic risk • the development and implementation of a worker engagement tool for work variability and adaption • the development and implementation of a methodology for worker critical analysis and thinking skills • funding for a youth alcohol and drug programme in the

Waikato region.