Sometimes, the ‘To Do’ list gets a little long and the smallest things are overlooked. The Hamilton City Council, which oversees the Hamilton Zoo learnt an expensive lesson when one of its zookeepers was mauled to death by a Sumatran tiger. Yes, sometimes a pot of paint could save a life. Yes, the cost of a human life is unquantifiable; however, a newbie quantity surveyor can tell you the value paint and a few work hours. If you want to dive deep into the story read:
- Pot of paint could have saved zookeeper’s life RadioNZ
- Zoo death and dog attacks part of $127,000 court costs for Hamilton City Council: StuffNZ
What Happened?
- Samantha Kudeweh, 43, was killed by a Sumatran tiger when she entered an enclosure, unaware that the animal was roaming at large.
- It was difficult to see if a second gate that leads to the tiger’s den was open as the main gate to the enclosure had been shifted in 2013 after a near miss incident. As a result,
- The Zoo Management deemed a ‘two-gate airlock system – which was intended to be safe’ too expensive.
- There had been a discussion around painting counter-weights on the gates a distinctive colour, to make it more obvious that the gate was open, but the Zoo “could not afford the paint”.
- Zoo staff, interviewed by WorksafeNZ said the Zoo was ‘was critically understaffed and under-resourced’, with the ratios of keepers to animals (especially dangerous animals) were critically low compared to other Zoos in New Zealand.
What did the Court Say?
Fine: $38,250
Reparation: $10,000 to Ms Kudeweh’s family
Family Trust: $190,000 Mrs Kudeweh’s two children
Other ‘Costs’
- Two children no longer have a mother, Billy and Sage, aged 9 and 3 when the death occurred
- Destroyed moral for the workers remaining at the zoo
- Legal fees for the case added up to $53,733.50
What can we learn and what can you do with a can of paint save a life at your worksite?
- Be aware of what other operations are doing in your industry and follow your Approved Code of Practice. If you can’t afford to employ enough people you definitely can’t afford a negligence verdict.
- Think about the ‘Broken Windows’ around your worksite. What can you easily fix now?
- Cool things you can do with paint:
– Mark out ‘Visitor Carparks’. That way everyone can see where they need to be and identify the ‘walking hazard’ that doesn’t know your site.
– Mark out pedestrian walkways in heavily trafficked areas: See WORKPLACE TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT: Fact Sheet
– Create Operator Exclusion Zones around working pieces of machinery. For example, you could use yellow paint to create a safe work zone around a grinder that is approximately 1.5m wide and 75 cm NB this is based on USA recommended standards see ‘Safety Zones Around Machinery’
– Use dazzle spray and tags to mark defective tools
– Use different paint colours to identify tools and materials that need to stay in a specific area.
If you have any other ideas on how paint can be used to save a life, please let me know.
Have a safe and productive week.
SB