In order to conduct maintenance, a worker needed to remove guards from the tail drum of a conveyor. There was a lot of spillages built up inside the guard. As the worker removed the second guard all the weight of the spillage
material rested on the last bolt to be removed. The worker put his arm underneath the guard to unscrew the bolt using a rattle gun when the bolt came out and the guard dropped on top of his right hand. His hand became swollen
and first aid treatment was administered immediately.
Falls are a major cause of fatalities in the extractives sector, both in New Zealand and internationally. Of the eight fatalities in the extractives sector since 2011, five of them were a result of falls. Recent research from Australia, which covered extractives industry fatalities from 16 countries worldwide identified that 34% of fatalities are a result of falls, with objects falling on people being the dominant cause.
You need to ensure that:
• Risk assessments are conducted before any non-standard task is undertaken to identify potential hazards.
• Adequate and effective controls are in place to ensure no-one is exposed to the hazards associated with objects falling on them.
• Regular workplace inspections are conducted to identify spillage and poor housekeeping in work areas which could expose workers to fall hazards.
• Adequate time and resources are provided for all tasks, particularly where workers are required to lift potentially heavy objects.
Let’s work together to keep ourselves and our workers safe.
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