Our Services
Wood Processing Machine Safety Risk Assessments
TEG Risk Assessments provide a thorough look at your manufacturing facility to identify machinery that can cause harm to people or property.
Request an Assessment
If WorkSafe has visited your sawmill or wood processing site and you’ve received an Improvement Notice (or you’re expecting one), TEG Risk can help you respond quickly with a practical, engineering-led machine safety risk assessment.
We assess machinery risks, combustible/toxic dust exposure, fumes/chemicals, and hazardous substances - then turn findings into an actionable plan you can implement.
What we offer
This service is designed for:
- Sawmills and timber processing sites
- Wood product manufacturing (panels, engineered wood, joinery, treatment plants)
- Maintenance managers, engineering managers, HSE managers, and operations leaders
- Businesses that have had a WorkSafe assessment visit and need an independent audit / risk assessment to demonstrate control of critical risks
WorkSafe focus: what inspectors are looking at
WorkSafe has recently increased assessment activity across the wood product manufacturing sector to strengthen health and safety practices.
In practice, that often means closer attention on:
- Machinery safety (guarding, interlocks, emergency stops, safe access)
- Worker exposure to wood dust, fumes and chemicals
- Hazardous substances and hazardous areas (where applicable)
- Evidence that risks are identified, assessed, and controlled—then reviewed over time
What We Deliver
You’ll receive a clear, site-ready output you can use to prioritise and execute improvements:
- A machine safety risk assessment report with photos and standards references
- A prioritised action plan (what to fix first, and why)
- Practical control recommendations that protect people without killing productivity
- Optional budget-level cost guidance to support capex planning
- Support to align with your internal risk matrix and reporting format (where required)
Case study
Streamlining Machinery Risk Management for Silver Fern Farms
Our engagement with Silver Fern Farms, New Zealand’s largest meat processor, involved assessing over 4,700 machines across 14 sites. We used a structured, data-centric approach to centralise risk information, prioritise upgrades, and support capital planning. This enabled the client to make informed decisions and maintain a clear line of sight on safety performance across their operations.
View the case study
Why Choose TEG Risk?
We’re Wood Processing Safety Engineering Specialists
Wood processing has a unique risk profile: high-energy plant, complex material handling, and environments where dust, noise and moving machinery are part of daily operations. Our engineers bring deep capability across mechanical, electrical and functional safety - so you get controls that genuinely reduce harm, not generic “tick-box” recommendations.
We’re experienced in sawmill and wood manufacturing environments, including guarding strategy, safe access, isolation/LOTO, and control system risk reduction—designed to work in the real world.
Practical Solutions for High-Throughput Production
In sawmills and wood product manufacturing, safety improvements have to fit around uptime, maintenance windows, and the realities of continuous production. We design solutions that are achievable - balancing risk reduction with productivity, reliability and maintainability.
From conveyors and infeed/outfeed systems to processing lines and automated handling, we help you prioritise what matters most and implement improvements without derailing operations.
Clear Priorities, Defensible Evidence, Faster Progress
After a WorkSafe visit, you don’t just need a report - you need a plan you can execute and evidence you can stand behind. We identify and prioritise critical risks using structured assessments, then translate findings into a staged improvement programme.
That includes practical recommendations for machinery hazards and worker exposure risks (like wood dust and process-related fumes/chemicals), plus reporting that helps you plan, budget and demonstrate progress.
We Work With Your Operators and Maintenance Team
The best safety outcomes happen when the people who run and maintain the plant are involved. We spend time on the floor to understand how your site actually works - your process flow, changeovers, cleaning, jam clearing, and maintenance routines - so the controls we recommend are usable and adopted.
We tailor our reporting to suit your systems and risk matrix, and we’ll align on what “good” looks like for your site so you can move quickly and confidently.