"three fingers of his hand were cut off"

 

In our industry many workplaces will place a focus on a specific hazard. This is done to highlight the hazard and retrain the workers to mitigate the risk. Hand hazards are rarely discussed in our industry compared to others such as the petroleum industry. Here is a recent incident highlighting the need for renewed hand safety focus.

Accident during work, three fingers amputated

According to the information, (name omitted), a labourer working in the township department, was engaged in his regular work on Sunday. During this time, three fingers of his hand were cut off due to being hit by a grinder machine. Eyewitnesses and colleagues alleged that (worker)  was being made to work without safety equipment — especially safety gloves — at the time of the accident. If safety standards had been followed, this serious accident could have been avoided.

Not an ambulance, but a bike to the hospital.

The reaction of the company management after the accident is also under question. It is alleged that the injured worker was not immediately provided with an ambulance. He was taken to the hospital on a bike in critical condition. He has been admitted to (aluminium smelter hospital), where he is undergoing treatment. This delay further aggravated the situation, raising questions about the sensitivity of the management.

We pray that the worker’s injuries are healed as best as they can. We pray that the aluminium smelter provides the worker with occupational therapies to allow them to perform the same job as before. If the worker cannot perform the same job, we pray that the worker is given another job with the same salary within the smelter.

We are saddened to read that an ambulance transportation was not provided to the injured worker.

Regarding the incident, the only gloves the worker should have been provided would have been thin latex. Any thicker material could have been grabbed by the rotating machinery resulting in a hand or arm being ripped off. What was needed was machine guarding that physically prevented the worker’s hand getting close to the rotating machinery.

Please comment.