Plant and Machinery Incident Experts

Plant and machinery incidents are often catastrophic, resulting in serious, life-changing injuries with significant personal and financial consequences. When these incidents occur, understanding why they happened is critical—not only for determining liability, but for preventing recurrence.

At Dohrmann Consulting, our forensic engineers and ergonomists investigate the mechanical, human and system factors that contribute to plant and machinery incidents. Our experts bring deep industry experience from sectors including manufacturing, automotive, rail, cranes and EWPs, robotics and sustainable energy, combined with specialist expertise in safety and forensic investigation. This practical and technical knowledge allows us to analyse incidents through both an engineering and risk management lens.

We investigate far beyond the immediate event to understand the chain of causation. This includes examining plant design and guarding, mechanical function and failure, human-machine interaction, safety systems, maintenance regimes, training adequacy, operational procedures, risk controls and compliance with applicable standards. Through detailed site inspections, evidence review and technical analysis, we identify what allowed the incident to occur—and whether it was preventable.

A key aspect of plant and machinery incidents is that safety is built on shared responsibility, and liability often sits across multiple parties.

Manufacturers, designers, importers and suppliers have responsibilities to ensure plant is safe for its intended use, incorporating appropriate engineering controls, guarding, warnings, instructions and quality assurance measures. The person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) has duties to provide safe plant, maintain equipment, implement effective systems of work, and ensure risks are identified and controlled so far as is reasonably practicable.

Site managers, supervisors and health and safety personnel also play a critical role in maintaining a functioning safety system—through monitoring operations, enforcing procedures, responding to hazards and fostering a culture where safety concerns are identified and addressed before harm occurs. Workers themselves have responsibilities to follow procedures, use equipment as intended and participate in maintaining a safe work environment.

When all parts of this system function effectively, serious incidents should be prevented. But when a control fails, a hazard is overlooked, or responsibilities break down, the “hole in the system” can be difficult to identify. That is where forensic engineering investigation is critical.

Our role is to examine where risk controls may have failed, whether duties were met, and whether the incident arose from design issues, system failures, inadequate controls, unsafe practices—or a combination of these factors. What may initially appear to be “operator error” can often involve deeper underlying causes.

At Dohrmann Consulting, we are driven to understand these incidents with rigour and independence. We assist in determining causation and liability, support compensation matters, and most importantly, help identify lessons that can prevent the same injury from happening again.