As reported in the article, a worker was emptying pieces of solid chocolate into the melting vat when he slipped from a platform into the 2.5m (8ft) deep unit. He appears to have died instantly from a blow to his head by a paddle mixing the chocolate. The company is looking into why and how it happened.
Some things to think about. He was a temporary worker. How much safety and on the job training did he receive prior to being assigned the task? What barriers were there to keep someone from falling or in place to stop the machine from running when a control plane was breached? Did he have to reach over too far to dump the chocolate in the vat?
With the economy the way it is many people are working for temporary job placement companies or as a contractor. If you as the hiring company are training the temporary workers less than you would a permanent employee you may want to change the practice.
Not sure whether this is an issue in your company? Invite your contractors to attend a public or onsite TapRooT® Root Cause Analysis course with your managers and see what gaps in communication and training are present and learn solutions to fix the issue. Read more about our courses here: http://www.taproot.com/courses.phpRead more about the incident at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8141612.stm
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More comments/information:
http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Financial-Industry/Safety-is-no-accident-in-food-factories
Thanks for this article on taking this issue seriously.
Working for a temporary service myself, it is true, companies are supposed to train the employee, but the temporary service should be a partner in safety. We perform initial safety analysis, observations, investigations and safety consulting, far too many services allow their clients to do all the heavy lifting in safety. Thanks so much for this article, unfortunately temporary staffing services earn their poor safety reputations. We are proud that partnering with our clients have produced three consecutive years of record breaking reduction in incidents.
Virgil,
Agreed. The problem also occurs between Contractors and their clients. While the contractor and temporary service have a role, often there are proprietary safety training processes that can only be trained by the client. The visiting worker should receive the same training as in-house employees. The thought that the temporary worker will never be by themselves can cause many an issue.
Chris