Machine incident a warning to all

A 19-year-old man was recently trapped for 40 minutes in a poultry processing machine when clothing or jewellery was caught in an operating machine as he cleaned it. The incident was similar to one that killed an 18-year-old man in the same suburb in March. WorkSafe is looking at the adequacy of guarding on the machine involved in the incident along with training and supervision of the man.

WorkSafe’s Executive Director, John Merritt, said that a greater focus on workplace safety was needed by the entire community, particularly in tough times: “What many people don’t seem to realise is that there’s not much difference between the incident which kills and the one someone walks away from.

“This incident is another reminder that no one can afford to lose sight of what could have been. No matter what ads we make, no matter how graphic they are, they are not a patch on the revolting reality of what happens when something goes wrong at work.

“Employers and workers, their partners, friends and families all have a stake in making sure safety improvements are made.

“It can be a difficult conversation but unless safety in the workplace is a consistently high priority for everyone, disasters and near disasters will keep happening.

“We don’t want commitments to fix something after someone has been hurt or died. It’s too late then. Preventing injuries is much easier than dealing with the consequences.

“Relying on good luck, ‘common sense’, the skill and experience of individuals or that they’ll always do the right thing is not a plan. If you think it is, expect the worst.”