There are a number of ways our industry protects workers from
falls on a daily basis. The Aluminium Plant Safety Blog has posted incidents
where falls injured or killed workers. Here is a recent story that emphasizes
the continued need for fall protection education.
A man has been killed while working at an alumina
facility in Australia one night during the week September 28, 2014.
Local police senior sergeant said they
were investigating the death of a man who fell down
an elevator shaft.
At this stage no suspicious circumstances are
involved. The company issued a statement this morning to confirm a full
investigation was underway.
"We regret to confirm that an employee working at
our refinery was fatally injured in an incident in the powerhouse" it
said.
"We extend our deepest condolences and support to
the deceased's family, friend and colleagues at this difficult
time."
The inquiry is being continued by
WorkSafe, the Department of Mines and Petroleum and police.
The Aluminium Plant Safety Blog
offers our sincere condolences to the deceased worker’s family, friends, and
coworkers. The APSB hopes that the deceased coworkers are offered counseling to
deal with their loss.
Some news media reports had listed
the deceased as a maintenance worker who was with several other workers near a conveyor belt and at
some point in time his coworkers noticed that he was missing. After a brief
search the worker was found at the bottom of the elevator shaft which was closeby to the conveyor belt. One news
article stated that the deceased worker fell “hundreds of feet”.
The APSB has been in numerous
facilities and acknowledges how many fall hazards are located in plants. Some fall hazards are hidden. On a recent site
visit to aluminium plant the APSB looked through the lifting holes in some
steel plates and was shocked that they covered a 35 meter fall hazard. I assumed that they the steel plates covered a pit. I was unaware that the pit depth was several stories deep.
There is a lot of safety
information regarding fall hazard protection available. The Occupational Safety
& Health Administration has educational manuals, information, etc which can
be found here.
Worksafe BC has a safety video,
albeit it is older, it is still very educational.
The Health & Safety Executive
have some useful information which can be located here.
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