Unguarded machine severs man's arm

A chilling incident in which a man's arm was removed at the shoulder in a machine this week has prompted a WorkSafe Victoria warning that guarding had to be a higher priority for business.

The man, from Traralgon and in his late 30s, was operating a machine which peels bark from logs at a treated pine processing business not long after he started work on Tuesday morning.

Clothing was found caught in the machine. The man was put in an induced coma at the Alfred Hospital.

WorkSafe’s executive director for safety, John Merritt, said the incident was a warning to all employers and workers.

“There have been more than 1000 traumatic work-related amputations in Victoria over the past five years. The tragedy is that despite the long history and high awareness of the need to guard machines, too many people fail to guard them," he said.

“WorkSafe inspectors regularly find machines that have never been guarded, guards that have not been re-attached after repairs, maintenance or cleaning. Incident investigators frequently hear of past warnings of ‘an accident waiting to happen’.

“The potential to maximise safety exists in every workplace, with every employer and worker. Working together is a way of ensuring that everyone’s interests are protected,” Merritt said.

For more information on machine guarding, visit the WorkSafe website.