"intervention of the rescuers was useless, worker practically died instantly."

The lifting of items by overhead crane is done countless times in our workplaces with no issues. On occasion a tragedy will occur that will highlight this hazard that is so commonplace in our industry. Here is a recent story:

Died at the age of 31, crushed under a 20-ton casting mold, early one morning. This is the tragic fate of (name omitted), he lived in (town omitted) and worked at aluminium company in (town omitted), a foundry where the tragedy took place and with which he had signed a permanent contract.

The alarm was raised by the colleagues of the young worker, at around 7.30 and the rescue rushed to the place: two ambulances, the medical car and the firefighters, to try to free the 31-year-old from the mold he was moving - with others workers - and under which it was crushed. Unfortunately, a useless race: for the 31-year-old there would have been nothing more to do.

The dynamics and causes of the terrible fatal accident are being examined by the carabinieri of (local town), who intervened for surveys and investigations of the case together with the technicians of the (safety organization name), the prevention and safety service in the workplaces. An autopsy will not be carried out on the victim's body: the body, in the next few hours, will be returned to family members who will be able to organize the funeral ceremony.

We offer our sincere condolences to the deceased worker’s family, friends, and coworkers. We feel helpless from afar to offer comfort. But, offer our tears and prayers to the family. We hope that the pain they are experiencing is never felt by another family because of a workplace incident. That is why we post this incident that with our hope that this tragedy will be used for education and hopefully this incident does not occur again.

The news media stories state that the deceased worker was performing a lifting procedure with one or more colleague(s). This is a story that can be used to educate workers on intervening if they see something inappropriate or if a worker is being unsafe. This is hard for many workers to tell someone “hey what you are doing is not correct, you are not following the procedures, etc…” We have found that role playing with workers gets them more comfortable intervening. Also, when a workplace highlights a recent example of a worker intervening that can show workers that this process is encouraged. It is important not to penalize or reprimand (unless it is necessary) a worker if they are intervened with. If that makes sense. Last thing you would want is where this action is viewed negatively.

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