"crushed by an aluminum load...."

On a recent aluminum company visit we asked the management the following rhetorical question. Who is the most dangerous person at your workplace? Our answer is the individual who is not there yet, the contractor, the visitor, the supplier, etc. It is these individuals that should scare every aluminum company. It is these workers that need to be watch in terms of safety related topics. Here is a recent incident highlighting the danger outsiders inside our workplaces.

He was in charge of the disposal of special waste from the plant. The company: "Full cooperation with the authorities to rebuild the dynamics"

Dramatic accident at the (rail transportation) plant in Southern Europe. The worker 42 years old in charge of the disposal of special waste of an external company, died crushed by the material fallen from a crane arm. The deceased worker, according to what has been learned, died instantly and the help he was given proved useless. The unified trade union representation of the plant made known the incident, later confirmed by the carabinieri. The local union also expressed solidarity with the victim's family.

The reconstruction of the accident

The victim, who is also the owner of the external company "name omitted", according to what emerged from the first investigations by the carabinieri, died while he was collecting the waste using a mechanical arm to move the aluminum, a part of which would have crushed it at the inside the box where the material was deposited. Investigations were launched to ascertain the exact dynamics of what happened.

The company: "We offer full cooperation to the authorities"

The (rail transportation manufacturer) expresses "all its condolences and support to the (name omitted) family for the sad accident that fatally struck (worker’s name) of the homonymous company specializing in the collection and disposal of special industrial materials".

In a note, (rail transportation manufacturer) specifies to put "safety in the workplace at the center of its activities and company policies and therefore offers full and complete cooperation to the competent authorities committed to reconstructing the dynamics that determined the sad accident this morning in the area intended for the collection of special materials relating to the Reggio Calabria plant ».

"It's time for pain and silence"

Name omitted, chaplain of the rail transportation manufacturer and parish priest of the parish of nearby cathedral, asks to be recollected in silence and pain for the untimely death of (worker). “What happened today is an unexpected tragedy - says (the chaplain)- we are bewildered. I knew (deceased worker) personally, not only because of his work, but also because he was my parishioner. No one in the world would have expected such a tragedy, yet an innocent person dies while doing his job, doing his duty. He leaves behind his wife and three children. Now we must all pray, it is a great pain for (rail transportation manufacturer), but also for the whole city. We still do not know when the funeral will be held - adds chaplain- there are ongoing investigations.

We offer our sincere condolences to the deceased worker’s family, friends, and coworkers. We pray that overtime they will remember how the individual lived and remember less on how he died.

If we could speak to the workers family and friends, we would let them tell us about their departed family member and friend. We would tell them that we will keep this incident in our heart and mind. We will try to prevent a recurrence of this incident on our travels. In our heart and minds are hundreds of incidents. We told an aluminium company that we were representing all of the workers who died in workplace incidents. Because if the dead could speak they would say, don’t follow us in a workplace incident. That is why we keep posting incidents at this blog. Our sincere hope is that these incidents will be used an educational tool to prevent a recurrence.

Please comment.