"when they lifted the machinery the man had already died..."

The use of automated machinery is commonplace in our industry. The hazard associated with this machinery to the operators is sometimes overlooked. Here is a recent incident emphasizing that the hazard associated with automated machinery is real:

A large piece of machinery trapped and killed a man in the Western USA early one morning during the week of August 5, 2018.

The incident happened just before 9 a.m. Local firefighters responded within about five minutes of the call, but when they lifted the machinery the man had already died, the fire chief said. The man was an employee of the business, which specializes in architectural metals and metal cutting.

A representative with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration said the agency was notified of the incident and is investigating. The company had no previous incidents on record.

The second article:

The local County Coroner’s Office has identified an employee killed by a heavy piece of machinery early one morning at an architectural metal and metal-cutting business. Local firefighters responded within five minutes of a call about the incident around 9 a.m., local fire chief said. When firefighters lifted the machinery, the man, 21-year-old worker, had already died, the local fire chief said.

The worker’s cause and manner of death were still pending Monday morning.

We offer our sincere condolences to the deceased worker’s family, friends, coworkers on the passing of this worker.

We have seen numerous incidents where machinery operators forget the hazard associated with their equipment. Something goes wrong, and they either reach to correct something, or move something thinking that they are quicker than the automate process. Sometimes they can get away with the dangerous procedure. Which is against their training, and what the equipment manual instructions are. But, then they get caught and suffer the consequences. Always tell machinery operators that their equipment can kill. The Aluminium Plant Safety Blog has posted too many stories where automated machinery has killed or injured workers. 

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