WorkSafe New Zealand is cautioning small businesses to plan high‑risk, ad-hoc work, after a man was crushed to death while moving heavy machinery on the job.
Mitchell Pool was part of a team moving a 1.84‑tonne press brake into a workshop at Peter Gray Engineering in Ōtorohanga in December 2023. The business, which carries out engineering and fabrication for the dairy sector, has recently been sentenced for its work health and safety failures.
The work area had not been fully prepared for the move, which meant the press brake could not be shifted by a forklift. Instead, moving skates, a stacker, and a farm jack were used. During the move, one of the skates caught in a crack in the concrete floor, causing the machine to become unstable, fall, and fatally crush 31‑year‑old Mr Pool.
WorkSafe's investigation found the job was poorly planned, with no task‑specific risk assessment, unclear load limits, unsuitable equipment, and workers exposed to crush risks.
WorkSafe says the tragedy highlights a risk seen too often in small workplaces: jobs that fall outside day‑to‑day routines are tackled without enough planning, the right equipment, or clear safety controls.
"Small businesses often rely on experience and problem‑solving on the job. But when heavy machinery is involved, improvising can have fatal consequences," says WorkSafe's central regional manager, Nigel Formosa.
"Experience does not replace planning. Even skilled workers can be put at serious risk if the job hasn't been properly thought through."
WorkSafe says the case offers clear, practical lessons for small businesses across all sectors.
"This case shows why small businesses need to treat non‑routine work as high risk. Know the load, use equipment that's fit for purpose, set the job up so safer methods can be used, stop and reassess when things change, and keep people well clear of crush zones," says Nigel Formosa.
WorkSafe's role is to influence businesses and workers to meet their responsibilities and keep people healthy and safe. When they do not, we will take action. Manufacturing is one of New Zealand's most dangerous sectors, which is why it's a strategic focus for WorkSafe.
Background:
- Peter Gray Engineering was sentenced on 19 February 2026 in Te Kuiti District Court.
- Judge Matenga ordered reparations of $140,000.04 and imposed a fine of $9,000.
- Peter Gray Engineering was charged under sections 36(1)(a) and 48(1) and (2)(c) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015
- Being a PCBU having a duty to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers who work for the PCBU, including Mitchell Robert Thomas Pool, while at work in the business or undertaking, namely moving a press brake into a workshop, did fail to comply with that duty, and that failure exposed the workers to a risk of death or serious injury arising from manually handling heavy plant.
