"was hit on the head by the movement of a mechanical arm..."

 

The use of protective headwear in our workplaces should be mandatory for any individual on the production floor. We have toured workplaces where protective headwear was not required. Regardless, we still wore our hardhat on the tour. Here is a recent incident highlighting the importance of protective headwear. Please note that this news media article is opinionated to say the least.

Fatal accident at work. Worker killed by machinery

The fifty-five year old was an employee of (metal processing company). The man was hit on the head by the movement of a mechanical arm used to store aluminium.

His name was (name omitted), he was 55 years old, and lived in the hamlet of (location omitted), married, father of a 12-year-old boy. He is yet another victim at work, a long sequence that cannot be stopped, despite the many repeated appeals that have fallen on deaf ears, the safety conferences. The misfortune occurred yesterday morning at (company name omitted), in (location omitted), a company specialized in the production and trade of carbon steel, and whose objective is to supply high quality steel to Italian companies. The accident happened around noon. From an initial reconstruction, the 55-year-old worker at that time was working on a machine used for the palletization of aluminum strips. Suddenly the man was hit on the head by the movement of the arm of the same machine. A violent blow, so much so that the victim suffered significant injuries which caused his death.

An investigation into the causes of the accident is underway by the technical staff of (company name omitted), prevention and safety in the workplace. The technicians carried out the necessary measurements together with the staff of the (pertinent government safety organization. Once the alarm was raised, the first to rush to worker’s aid were company colleagues who immediately realized the seriousness of the injuries suffered by the 55-year-old. At the (metal processing company) headquarters, the 118 operations center sent a couple of ambulances and two medical vehicles together with the fire brigade vehicles. But when the medical staff reached the company, there was nothing the worker could do. The Police were present for the legal investigations.

We offer our sincere condolences to the deceased worker’s family, friends, and coworkers. The deceased worker “was hit on the head by the movement of the arm of the same machine”. We do not know if a hard hat or head protection would have minimized this incident. But, as past incidents have shown it is difficult to believe that if the worker was wearing a hard had the injuries might have been reduced. Neverless, all individuals entering the production area of an aluminium plant in our opinion should wear a hard hat in addition to safety glasses, hearing protection, etc.

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