The recent sentencing of Kohurau Contracting—following a serious safety breach that left a forestry worker with life-altering injuries—has prompted action across the sector. FICA and FISC have committed to supporting these efforts to collectively develop a new safety alert and guidance.
The incident, which occurred in August 2021 near Waipu, involved a fractured stabiliser ram and the catastrophic failure of a tower system during cable winching operations, resulting in the worker having four fingers amputated.
The incident revealed a reliance on experience over formal systems, and a misunderstanding of critical safety infrastructure like guy ropes. These gaps must be closed.
While the court has now issued its judgment, including a $70,000 fine and $80,000 in reparations, the deeper challenge remains: how do we ensure this never happens again?
Prior to sentencing, Kohurau Contracting requested assistance from FICA to help ensure meaningful industry learning from the incident. FICA agreed to support the development and distribution of a formal safety alert, as well as to lead the creation of practical guidance material focused on cable management and tower stabilisation.
FICA is pleased to confirm that FISC has committed to supporting these efforts to collectively:
Develop and publish a safety alert outlining the incident, contributing factors, and key learnings
Create practical guidance material for cable winching operations, tower stabilisation, and crew safety protocols
Engage contractors, Original Equipment Manufacturers, and forest owners to ensure the guidance is relevant, implementable, and widely adopted
FICA encourages all members to share the upcoming safety alert, participate in feedback sessions on the draft guidance material and use this case as a prompt to review internal safety systems and training.
We remain committed to supporting collaborative, transparent, and practical safety leadership. Thank you to FISC for their partnership and Kohurau Contracting for engaging constructively in this process.
