With heavy machinery comes the danger of injury, which can occur in many different ways. We’ve seen some horrific articles in the news recently, such as the father of six from Yorkshire who died after falling into a 28-year old cardboard recycling machine, which then restarted. The firm in question were fined for a massive breach in health and safety.
We also read about a Welshman who fell 15 feet between recycling machinery at a recycling unit in Cwmcarn. The gentleman had to be airlifted to a hospital in Cardiff because of his injuries.
These sort of accidents seem to be happening at a frightening regularity, and often it is down to a lack of awareness or adherence to health and safety codes. So we’ve looked at five key areas employees and businesses can focus on to avoid the risk of injury…
Equipment failure
Whilst it seems a hard task to prepare for the seeming randomness of equipment failure, the likelihood can be massively reduced by having regular servicing and maintenance. An active knowledge of machine limits and the regular faults that could occur, also prepare the users for avoiding breakdowns.
Entanglement
Sadly, this happens far too often, that people put limbs where they shouldn’t, or pieces of their clothing or hair become entangled and they get pulled into the machine. The best way to avoid becoming entangled is to adhere to the health and safety dress code, avoid wearing jewellery and don’t take risks with potentially dangerous heavy machinery.
Chemical Hazards
Not all machines, but many require the use of chemicals in their activity. These chemicals could be toxic, and incredibly damaging over time. Proper safety equipment and a vetting on the work environment to assess potential intoxications to the staff are vital to protecting people in the short and long terms.
Lifting
‘Lift with your knees, not your back’. We’ve heard it dozens of times before, but it really is true. Lifting is one of the most frequent causes of injury in warehouses and factories. Improper lifting technique is awful for the back, neck and legs and if no short term damage is done, long term damage surely will be. If something is too heavy, ask for help, use a fork lift, or split it into smaller loads when possible.
Poor spatial design
This doesn’t happen so often, but having limited space due to a poorly place machine can cause all sorts of accidents. Bumping into machinery and having to make awkward body movements to adapt to the lack of space are potential causes of human injury.
See our Massive Machinery series here: