Health and Safety stories
Forest workers are safer than a decade ago, but serious injuries and fatal risks still haunt an industry worth NZD $6 billion a year.
Workers can be killed within minutes if toxic hydrogen sulphide builds up in confined or poorly ventilated spaces, WorkSafe warns.
Failing to maintain critical safety controls can leave businesses exposed to prosecution even when workers act recklessly, experts warn.
Rising costs, labour shortages and patchy demand are forcing trades firms to adapt fast as construction failures mount and projects stay funded.
Mental health pressures are prompting builders to invest in tech and change work practices, with 45% reporting employee wellbeing issues.
A Bay of Plenty lime spreader has been fined after dust blown on to a motorway sparked a fatal multi-vehicle crash and killed Susan Walmsley.
A Napier roofing firm has been fined and ordered to pay reparations after a 14-year-old worker fell eight metres through a skylight.
At least two construction workers have died each month since last year, prompting urgent warnings over site safety and enforcement.
Digital tools could help New Zealand builders deliver homes faster and cheaper as shortages, costs and delays threaten supply.
Children were left at risk of death or serious injury when an inflatable slide collapsed, prompting a GBP £350,000 fine in Waihi.
Businesses may now restart lung checks for welders and silica workers, after WorkSafe said COVID-19 risks have eased enough.
Better data on BIM use could help cut New Zealand construction accidents, as the sector seeks input from workers and contractors.
A central registry could help builders and councils find trusted product data more easily, cutting costly non-compliance in construction.
WorkSafe says worn towing gear and expired certification let a trailer decouple on a Northland road, killing a nine-year-old girl.
Skills shortages, cost pressures and red tape are leaving New Zealand contractors wary as vital infrastructure projects come under strain.
WorkSafe says directors remain liable after insolvency, as a painter’s death in Bucklands Beach exposed failures to use edge protection.
Worker buy-in is often the missing link, with listening helping managers improve reporting, engagement and hazard detection.
A Kaikoura fencing sole trader has been ordered to pay NZD $22,500 after a teenage worker lost sight in one eye.
The pilot of the computer vision system helps solve a key business issue for EnviroNZ at its resource recovery centre identifying health and safety risks.
Road contractors face new duties as New Zealand shifts temporary traffic management from compliance rules to risk-based controls.
