Workers suffer lacerations during glass sheet accident

Serious injuries have been sustained by workers when several large glass sheets in a racking system fell to the ground and shattered.

Three workers suffered severe lacerations during the incident, which occurred in February 2018.

According to Workplace Health and Safety Queensland, it appears that one of two workers trying to restrain the glass sheets by hand was unable to support the weight of one of them.

Another worker came to his assistance but was unable to prevent the sheet from falling. Investigations are continuing.

A report by Workplace Health and Safety Queensland states that sheet materials, such as glass sheets, windows or shower screens, can fall if they are not adequately supported while being handled, moved or stored.

“The risk of injuries is high when glass sheets are being handled or moved and the sheets are not adequately supported by suitable racking or transport frames. Workers or others in the immediate vicinity of stacked sheet materials are at risk of being crushed, trapped or cut by falling sheets of material. In addition, workers risk musculoskeletal injuries when they are required to manually balance stacks of sheets during sorting and handling,” the report said.

Workplace Health and Safety Queensland advises duty holders in the glass handling/manufacturing industry to consider a combination of engineering and administrative risk controls because relying on one system may not be effective. It states that:

• workers should never restrain glass by hand
• use a rack or transport frame to securely store, cradle, lift, transport and restrain sheets
• use mechanical lifting equipment whenever possible
• implement regimes for maintenance, inspection and testing of all racking and lifting equipment
• have a lifting plan
• avoid accessing sheets from the middle of the stack
• ensure support systems are designed for forces resulting from unbalanced loads
• ensure appropriate and adequate training and supervision of workers
• ensure workers wear appropriate PPE.

Since 2012, there have been 126 glass smashing incidents, 13 involving stacks or racks of glass panelling (as opposed to single sheets), according to the report by Workplace Health and Safety Queensland.

“There have been 157 accepted workers’ compensation claims for injuries received as a result of falling glass. This means on average, 31 claims are accepted each year for workers injured by falling glass. 40% of these injuries are serious,” the report said.

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