Nailgun death spurs review

The Department of Labour will review the safety of nailguns after an Otago builder was killed last year when a nail ricocheted and hit him in the head.

Robert John Otto, 36, of Cromwell, died in November at a building site in Frankton, near Queenstown.

The Southland service manager for the department's Occupational Safety and Health service, John Pannett, said yesterday that OSH had completed its investigation into Mr Otto's death and no one would be prosecuted.

Mr Otto was struck in the head by a deflected nail fired from a handheld nailgun by a colleague who was trying to drive a nail through steel.

From next month OSH would review training for nailgun users and update training material to include more specific instructions relating to use with steel, Mr Pannett said.

The review would also look at:

* Whether 25 years was a suitable duration for a certificate of competence; * Clarifying the danger zones to be observed by people working in the vicinity;

* The ongoing suitability of the use of nailguns on construction sites.

The fatal shot which hit Mr Otto came from a Ramset cartridge-operated nailgun, which is different to the more common nailguns used to nail timber to timber.

The Ramset guns are used to nail timber to other substances such as metal and have a more powerful shot.

Mr Pannett said Mr Otto's death had been referred to the coroner.

- NZPA