The widow of a man killed at work said her husband's death at a Waikato landfill was preventable.
Her husband, 60-year-old truck driver Gratten Layne, was standing at the rear of his truck when he was struck and killed by another loader driven by a colleague at the Hampton Downs landfill in March 2020.
She said she was in shock after learning of the news, and that memories of him still causes her grief to this day.
"I was in disbelief, numb, shaken to the very core when Gratten was killed at work. He was my hubby, my soulmate, and both me and my son's best friend," she said.
"His death has left a hole in our life. He was our rock."
She said her husband "loved being in the water, swimming, fishing, kayaking and our long walks on the beach. Now I walk alone".
She continued: "He is in our daily thoughts and frequently in our conversation. Tears flow and I must stop and take a breath when remembering that day."
She believes the accident which killed Layne was entirely preventable and that the company, EnviroWaste, was operating poorly.
"Gratten's accident shouldn't have happened. Things went terribly wrong, and the right things weren't put in place."
It comes after WorkSafe accepted an enforceable undertaking put forward by EnviroWaste in response to Layne's death.
The legally binding commitment includes reparations to Layne's family; an artificial intelligence technology initiative in health and safety; funding for a youth alcohol and drug programme in the Waikato region; and the development and implementation of methodologies to better understand dynamic risk, and worker critical analysis and thinking skills.
A worker engagement tool for work variability and adaption will also be developed and implemented.
The agreement comes at a minimum cost of nearly $1 million to EnviroWaste.
"The investment EnviroWaste is prepared to make exceeds what even the courts may have ordered in penalties," WorkSafe's head of specialist interventions, Dr Catherine Gardner, said today in a statement.
"This demonstrates a substantial commitment to health and safety and will see benefits being directed back to workers, the industry, and the community.
"Enforceable undertakings are not a soft option for businesses."
WorkSafe will regularly monitor the company's progress on the conditions agreed upon by both parties.
Layne's widow said she was pleased that the workplace health and safety regulator "ensures workplaces like EnviroWaste are held to account".
"I agree with accepting an enforceable undertaking, and I hope it means deaths will be prevented in future," she said.
EnviroWaste chief executive Chris Aughton said Layne's death is a chance for the company to improve worker safety and prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.
"The enforceable undertaking means something constructive can come out of this tragic event. It represents a major investment and commitment from EnviroWaste to improve worker safety and prevent incidents like this from happening again," Aughton said.
"We believe the application of AI technology holds real potential for organisations to respond to risks and hazards in real-time and to improve the safety of workers through deeper engagement.
"Boosting worker safety is a meaningful way we can honour Gratten's life and legacy. "
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