Piping contractor Canadian Pacific Ltd has been convicted in the District Court of health and safety charges relating to a fatal gas explosion in Auckland.
Canadian engineer Philomen Gulland, 48, was killed and six other people injured in the blast while work was being carried out on water main pipes at a Watercare site in Onehunga on 4 June 2011.
Watercare, a company owned by the Auckland Council, was fined $81,000 for failing to protect its employees and ordered to pay $315,000 in reparation on 13 September 2013.
In his judgement, Judge Robert Ronayne said Canadian Pacific failed to identify the hazard of explosive gas and to instruct its employees to follow Watercare procedure.
Judge Ronayne said the company also failed to carry out atmosphere testing before and during the work.
As the monitoring was not undertaken, the judge said it was impossible to determine the cause of the explosion and there is no proof that these failings led to the blast.
Canadian Pacific Ltd will be sentenced next year.
