Wellington, July 22 NZPA -The Labour Department is reminding employers to be vigilant when identifying possible employee hazards in the workplace.

The call follows the sentencing of Transfield Services New Zealand Limited today in Auckland District Court over an incident in June 2009 when an employee was seriously injured by an arc flash.

The company was ordered to pay a fine of $39,000 and reparation of $10,000 for failing to take all practicable steps to ensure an employee was not exposed to hazards.

Labour Department central Auckland service manager Claire Morris said the accident could have been prevented had the company properly identified all potential hazards, ensured the employee was properly supervised and wearing appropriate gear.

"Proper hazard identification in the workplace can prevent serious harm and save lives," she said.

The Transfield employee, a three-year apprentice electrician, was working alone with limited experience and was not aware of an arc flash hazard.

The Labour Department said he mistakenly cut an 11,000 volt live cable which caused the arc flash.

Transfield corporate affairs manager David Jamieson said the company did have specific safety measures in place, "but regrettably, some were not followed in this incident."

"We take safety of our employees extremely seriously. The judge praised our safety record, saying we'd had only one previous conviction in the entire time we've been operating in New Zealand -- which is over a decade."

Since the incident, the company had strengthened its focus on safety further, by imposing 10 mandatory safety rules that all 28,000 employees worldwide must follow, he said.

"We've made it explicitly clear to our people that we will accept nothing less than no injuries to anyone at anytime."