That's actually not true about the worker being screwed. It'll come down to whether they had effective systems in place to control that hazard and whether those controls were implemented, monitored and reviewed for effectiveness.
The creation of the SOP's is one thing but the implementation is the 'low hanging fruit' for prosecution. Anyone can write a procedure, it then relies upon adequate training and supervision to ensure that the SOP is correctly implemented into the workplace and that it is adequate for use, controls the relevant hazards and doesn't introduce any additional hazards (unforseen) into the process.
Plan - Do - Check - Act. An organisation needs to demonstrate reasonable and effective activities across those 4 key areas in order to establish that all reasonable controls are implemented to control foreseeable hazards (otherwise known as providing a safe workplace).
Typically, training and supervision are the main areas of failure as every company can produce a system, just not many can demonstrate that they have successfully implemented it. For interested people, read the Pike River findings.
NCZ Price at posting:
16.5¢ Sentiment: Hold Disclosure: Held