"the man got caught in a winding machine.... was trapped in it."

Machine guarding importance is overlooked until an incident where it would prevent the injury or death. Here is a recent tragedy.

A 42-year-old machine operator died in an accident at work in Ganderkesee (district of Oldenburg). The accident happened during the late shift in a metal processing company. There, for reasons that are not yet clear, the man got caught in a winding machine for aluminum strips and was trapped in it. He died at the scene of the accident. The company's employees were looked after by a crisis intervention team. It is still unclear how the fatal accident could have happened.

We offer our sincere condolences to the deceased worker’s family, friends, and coworkers. If we had the opportunity to talk to the deceased worker’s family. We would first let them speak. We would listen. Many times those in unimaginable grief of losing a loved one just want to talk to someone. All too often people fail to realize that there is nothing that they can say that will remedy the situation. Many times their presence is all that is needed. If we spoke to the worker’s family. We would only offer that we would pray that they would remember their loved one for how they lived and not how they died.

Many times when we speak to workers and use past incidents as examples of hazard. A worker will ask “why did the worker do…” Our response is blunt “We don’t know why the worker did what they did. Because the dead don’t talk”.

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