HOT AIR: Serene fan heaters and the largest appliance recall in New Zealand history

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Title:	HOT AIR: Serene fan heaters and the largest appliance recall in New Zealand history
Author(s):	SOLLITT, Justin P.
ISBN:	978-0-473-70799-6
Category:	Business
New / Used:	Used
Book Type:	Medium Softcover
Published:	2024
Published By:	GPML
Edition:	1st edition
Pages:	280
Size (mm):	210 w x 295 h x 25 d

Condition

New

About

A must read for anyone in business and who says they have seen and heard it all…. because until you read this story, you haven’t.

The shocking and bizarre story of how in early 2024 one of New Zealand’s most prominent heating appliance brands based in Christchurch swiftly closed up shop, before becoming the centre of the largest and most costly appliance safety recall in New Zealand history.

Although appliance recalls are not uncommon, what makes this story truly extraordinary is the realisation of the sheer quantum and scale of the safety and compliance deficiencies across the whole SERENE INDUSTRIES LTD heating products range, whilst the numerous safety audit warnings of the same since 2017 that were reported to safety regulator WORKSAFE went largely ignored or dismissed.

Between 2017 to 2023 WORKSAFE knowingly allowed tens of thousands of the dangerous SERENE fan heaters to continue to be sold and installed across New Zealand.

Meanwhile in Australia the local SERENE franchisee distributor that had only signed on the year prior in 2016, had all the same safety and compliance shortcomings quickly surface. However, they promptly recalled what little they had sold, terminated their business and consigned their entire SERENE inventory to be scrapped.

Then in early 2024, seven years after the first safety notice was filed as well 52 official notices subsequent, that included right up to Worksafe Ministerial level, and completely without warning - WORKSAFE quietly conceded that SERENE products were in fact unsafe and swiftly gazetted two recall notices that covered three SERENE heater models and all their heaters sales in New Zealand.....for the entire previous six years since 2018.

In an instant WORKSAFE stance had gone from dismissing the twelve fire safety incidents since 2017 (two of which were near fatal) as just frivolous scaremongering, to in 2024 publicly regulating that is illegal to even switch a SERENE heater on, describing them as "so unsafe".

Meanwhile the Owner of SERENE INDUSTRIES swiftly disappeared without a trace, whilst the CEO of WORKSAFE had resigned and the organisation barley made a comment despite the enormous media coverage demanding an explanation.

Within only a month of the second recall notice the cost that WORKSAFE has forced onto New Zealand home and business owners is in the range of tens of millions of dollars.

To the layman this story clearly reveals how only a few years prior, and to the utter disbelief of a nation, the numerous unsafe and notified conditions were allowed to continue for years at Pike River Mine that abruptly ended with the explosion that killed 29 miners - and more recently the highly questionable fiasco that became of the Whakaari / White Island disaster investigation - both under the control of the very same Safety Regulator.

This is a story driven by the lethal combination of the reckless hubris, arrogance and deceit within SERENE INDUSTRIES colliding with the incomprehensible dysfunction, naivety and systematic failures within government safety regulator WORKSAFE ...whilst technical ineptitude was rife through both organisations.

Just as was the outcome of the Pike River Mine investigation, there has been zero accountability from either SERENE INDUSTRIES or WORKSAFE, whilst the court of public opinion has already deemed this a matter of criminal negligence.

Sadly and unnecessarily, there are striking similarities that are universal between this SERENE story and infamous other disasters in history which inevitably have ended up TV drama documentaries - including; Cave Creek, Pike River Mine, Titan / Ocean Gate and the Grenfell Tower fire. Just as is the case with SERENE every one of these disasters had the same pattern of greed, profit and ineptitude getting in the way of public safety, whilst the safety regulator was warned numerous times over the years prior, but still knowingly just let it happen.

"Serene will completely reshape Worksafe, especially in lieu of the Pike River Mine and White Island disasters". PN

"This is an absolute fiasco these Worksafe criminals have caused.” NZ wholesale reseller

"In our own business we get a further (and horrifying) look into the Worksafe team and their complete lack of skill and knowledge of electrical standards etc through this same process. Honestly, we we're shocked." NZ appliance distributor.

"This recall should never have happened, it should have been swiftly dealt with in 2017 when Worksafe were first told about it. This is a direct result of blatant recklessness by Serene, ineptitude by Worksafe and criminal negligence by both." GPML

Remarks

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