Peter Ord was fatally injured when he got trapped in machinery at John Gordon and Son Ltd’s yard.
At Inverness Sheriff Court yesterday the firm admitted failing to comply with health and safety rules.
But Mr Ord’s family described the size of the fine imposed as “a joke for the loss of a life”.
The 40-year-old became entangled in wood working machinery and died at the scene of the accident in Nairn.
Fiscal depute Geoff Main said that Mr Ord – who had worked for the company for eight years and operated a resaw machine – suffered severe injuries when he got trapped in the mechanism of a waterfall conveyor used to lift timber.
The court heard that on the day of the accident, there had blockages in the system and at one point the machinery was switched off to allow the wood to be repositioned.
Mr Main said that after 8.25am on the day of the incident on February 23 last year one employee working nearby, Lauris Berzins, heard a shout, while another, David Wilson, heard a “strange noise”.
He said Mr Berzins saw Mr Ord in a crouched position trapped in the sprocket and shaft mechanism of the waterfall.
Both men pushed the emergency stop button and a company first aider attended before emergency services were contacted.
Mr Main said the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigated the incident and decided it was likely Mr Ord had gained access to the area either by squeezing through a gap between two guards or climbing over the conveyor table.
The fiscal said he may have gone into the area to attempt to clear a blockage on the in-feed conveyor, and an HSE expert said the machine should have been switched off.
The fiscal said the HSE investigation revealed Mr Ord and another operator had “defeated the guarding” on previous occasions, creating a “foreseeable danger”.
Mr Main said: “The guarding at the waterfall was inadequate to prevent access to dangerous moving parts and potential injury to employees.”
But he added that the company, which was founded 140 years ago, had now improved the guarding.
John Gordon and Son’s agent, solicitor John McGovern, said: “The consequences and effect of this tragic accident have been felt not least for the Ord family but by all those associated with the sawmill.
“Since Mr Ord’s death the company has employed a new manager who is on-site on a full-time, permanent capacity.
“All staff are encouraged to report matters which are or may be a risk in what is a particularly hazardous industry.”
The company admitted a charge under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, that it failed to provide sufficient guarding on their machinery to prevent access by employees.
Mr Ord’s brother Charlie, who has worked at the timber yard for 21 years, said after the hearing: “I think £80,000 is a joke for the loss of his life.”
Sheriff Margaret Neilson said: “This is a particularly tragic case given the deceased’s longstanding and enduring connection with the company.”
She said that a “significant fine” was appropriate to mark the seriousness of the offence.
She ordered that the fine, reduced from £120,000 due to an early guilty plea, must be paid within six months.
