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Wednesday, December 11, 2024

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Company fined $330K after racking collapse claimed worker’s life

United Steel of Christchurch has been fined $330,000 following the tragic death of a worker caused by an unstable steel rack collapse.

The incident occurred in November 2020, when 33-year-old Franchesco Krueger was struck by nine tonnes of improperly secured steel while sweeping under a rack at United Steel’s Wigram site.

A WorkSafe investigation highlighted serious safety oversights, noting that the racking system was neither cross-braced nor bolted to the floor, lacked regular safety inspections, and had no engineering oversight to ensure stability.

WorkSafe’s area investigation manager, Steve Kelly, called the fatality “a tragic incident that should never have occurred” if United Steel had adequately managed its risks. He said it was important to have professional input in designing commercial racking systems and the need for businesses to regularly inspect racking and display clear weight limits to prevent collapses.

United Steel was sentenced on November 1, 2024, in Christchurch District Court.

Alongside the fine, the company was ordered to pay $100,000 in emotional harm reparations to Krueger’s family. This case is part of WorkSafe’s broader focus on New Zealand’s high-risk manufacturing sector, particularly metal fabrication, where increased safety inspections aim to reduce workplace injuries and fatalities.

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2 COMMENTS

    • Absolutely. Here’s hoping Worksafe use that $330000 to check and double check every steel rack & all working conditions in the country, alongside rigorous technical training for future inspectors, without woke signalling, in his memory. It’s horrible to think of some of the recent tragic accidents involving heavy engineering. Worksafe, not Wokesafe. R.I.P. dude.

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