The young man was cleaning the conveyor on a night shift and was not told that the conveyor’s guard was removed during the day shift. Because the area was poorly lit, combined with poor housekeeping, the worker could not see that the guard was missing and was pulled into the moving conveyor.
The employer was charged for violating section 9(2)(c.3) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act for failing to provide the necessary supervision.
WorkSafeNB determined the primary causes of the incident to be:
- Lack of employee supervision: As a young worker, closer supervision was required.
- Failure to safeguard the machinery: The conveyor was not reassembled according to the manufacturer’s specifications.
- Poor housekeeping.
Recommended Actions to Prevent Similar Incidents from Happening:
- Provide the supervision necessary to ensure a worker’s health and safety. This includes ensuring that every worker is aware of all their tasks and responsibilities.
- Ensure workers know about any hazards associated with the handling of tools, machinery or equipment that they use in the course of their jobs by providing information, instruction and training.
- Ensure that a machine is operated and maintained in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions or in accordance with the safety requirements at all time.
- Ensure that work areas are well-lit.
- Prevent the buildup of dust through good housekeeping.
- Introduce a written procedure to ensure the machine is safe to operate, with all guards in place, before being put back in operation after work is performed on the machine.
Guard was removed and not replaced on the conveyor
Floor was covered with sawdust.
