A Victorian company has been convicted and fined $275,000 over the death of a worker who was pulled into and crushed by a concrete press.
Nathan Lewis, 25, was killed in September 2018 while cleaning a red radial press at Precast Civil Industries Pty Ltd, which manufactures concrete pipes.
The Shepparton company on Thursday faced the Victorian County Court, where Judge Justin Hannebery said it failed to ensure a safe system for cleaning machinery.
"Nathan Lewis died at work (and) his loss has had a profound impact on those close to him," Judge Hannebery said.
"Imposing a fine is not an assignation of monetary worth to the victim's life, an indication of the triviality of the offending, or about compensating the victim.
"Rather, it is a reflection of the risk-based offences that comprise the Occupational Health and Safety Act."
Mr Lewis had worked at the company for two-and-a-half years.
He was killed after using a hammer on the red radial press' conveyer rollers to remove hardened concrete that accumulated during production.
Mr Lewis made contact with a return roller on the underside of the concrete feed conveyer and was then drawn in and crushed by the conveyer.
Precast pleaded guilty to one count of failing to provide a safe working environment in May last year.
A WorkSafe investigation found there was no documented procedure in place for cleaning the conveyor rollers and identified several measures for the company to implement to reduce the risk of entanglement.
This included installing self-cleaning rollers, stopping employees from bypassing existing safety measures that would have turned the machine off, and ensuring the underside of the conveyor belt was reached by alternative means, such as a forklift and cage.
WorkSafe health and safety director Narelle Beer said it was crucial businesses ensure safe systems of work are in place.
"In this tragic case, there were simple steps the employer could have taken to reduce the health and safety risk to their workers and ultimately prevent a senseless loss of life" Dr Beer said.
