A 17-year-old second year apprentice butcher suffered severe tendon, nerve, bone and muscle damage
while feeding meat into a mincer.
The guard had been removed from the mincer and his right hand was drawn into the machine
trapping him by the feeder paddles up to his shoulder.
If you work with machinery, keep your people safe.
Machinery in food manufacturing presents significant safety risks to operators
when it is not used correctly, is faulty or has been tampered with.
Measures must be put in place to prevent or reduce operators accessing dangerous moving parts.
The two most common forms of guarding in food manufacturing are fixed guards and interlock guards.
A fixed guard may be suitable when operators do not need to regularly access the machine’s dangerous parts.
It should form a barrier between the operator and the hazardous area,
and stop them getting near the area other than when the machine needs to undergo maintenance
by an experienced or qualified person.
Operators should not be able to remove fixed guards.
An interlock guard may be suitable if operators need to regularly access hazardous areas during production
to clean or clear blockages.
An interlock guard stops the machine from operating unless the guard is in position.
If the moving parts do not stop immediately,
the interlocked guard should not be able to be opened until the moving parts come to a complete standstill.
Other ways of safeguarding dangerous parts are to make sure any guards that are adjustable
are positioned so that there is no way for operators to access the hazardous area.
Consider using machines with two handed controls to make sure that hands are kept free of the operating machinery.
Operators should stop and isolate the machine before cleaning.
Where a machine is required to be running for cleaning the speed of the machine should be as low as possible
or operators should use hold or inching controls to run it.
Before doing repairs, operators must isolate the energy supply.
The isolation switch needs to be locked and tagged out to prevent the machine being activated.
Take extra care if children are ever in your workplace.
They should never be allowed near machines.
Smaller hands can fit through smaller gaps in guards, which can have disastrous consequences.
Operators must receive training in the safe use of the machine before they start using it.
The training should include instructions from the manufacturer for the safe use of the machine,
the dangers of touching moving parts on the machine such as
slicers, mincers, mixers, saws and moulders, and how to use the emergency stops.
When writing procedures, use short messages and include images or sketches, where useful.
An emergency stop button or lanyard should be easy for operators to access.
Emergency stop buttons should not be used for starting and stopping the machine.
They are not designed to prevent incidents but to minimise the potential harm.
Operators should also be made aware that loose clothing, jewellery and long hair
can become entangled in moving machine parts, drawing them in and causing serious injuries or death.
Check whether the safeguards control the risks and are working as they are meant to.
If the safeguards have been removed or by-passed, isolate the machine and investigate why it was tampered with.
With your workers, address the issues that lead to the tampering and together develop a solution that is both safe and practical.
Remember, if you import machinery for processing food,
it is your responsibility to make sure the danger areas are adequately safeguarded before it is used in the workplace.
It only takes a fraction of a second to injure a person for life.