""We are investigating whether safety rules were followed...."

 

Machine guarding is a hazard that our industry has acknowledged as an area of focus. But, still incidents keep occurring. Here is a recent fatal incident highlighting the importance of identifying this hazard.

A worker in his 50s died at the (aluminium) plant when he was caught in a roller machine, prompting the police to investigate.

According to the (local) Police Station on the 17th, at around 6:57 pm the previous day, worker A in his 50s at the (aluminium)  plant was involved in an accident when he got stuck in a roller machine used in the aluminum processing process.

At around 8:20 p.m. on the same day, firefighters who responded to the scene after receiving a report from factory officials transported (the injured worker) to a nearby hospital, but he died.

The factory employs more than 50 full-time workers and is subject to the Serious Accident Punishment Act.

The law, which came into effect on January 1 last year, allows employers and managers who fail to fulfill their obligations to prevent accidents to be imprisoned for more than one year or fined up to ($2 million USD) if serious accidents such as the death of workers occur at workplaces with 50 or more full-time employees (construction companies have a construction amount of ($3.8 million USD) or more).

A police official said, "We are investigating whether safety rules were followed and the exact circumstances of the accident," adding, "We are also investigating why it took time for a report to be received after the accident."

We pray for the deceased worker’s family, friends, and coworkers. We pray that this tragedy will be used to prevent another from occurring.

The Aluminium Times magazine published two articles about machine guarding. They can be found here:

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