Lathe Operator: fatality
- Alert
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Document Type: Alert
Keycode: web only
Category: Incident Notification New Manual Handling Plant
Division Author: Manufacturing, Logistics & Agriculture
Publication Date: 23 July 2007
Date First Published: 23 July 2007
Summary: Recently, an employee sustained fatal injuries while working on a large metal roller supported in a centre lathe.
INCIDENT: Lathe operator caught on a rotating work piece was entangled and drawn in
Background
Recently, an employee sustained fatal injuries while working on a large metal roller supported in a centre lathe.
The employee was hand finishing / smoothing the roller while holding abrasive paper by hand over a bonded rubberised surface and the roller was turning at speed in the lathe.
The lathe had a protruding bolt of a coupling device purpose-built to retain the end shaft of the roller to the chuck of the lathe.
It is suspected that the employee became entangled around the rotating roller after his clothing became caught on the protruding bolt.
Lathe configuration
Centre lathe supporting four jaw chuck with fitted power grinder attachment. Meuser & Co lathe with markings of Meuser & Co, Werkzeugmaschinen - Fabrik Fabrikattransnummer 3900.
Contributing Factors
Hazard: turning shaft or work piece supporting a catch point or protruding part such as a bolt head
Risk: person working in close proximity of a rotating shaft or work piece and being entangled—protruding parts of shafts or work pieces may not be visible to operators when rotating at high speed.
Existing Knowledge of the Hazard
Rotating shaft or work piece with protruding parts that are not guarded to prevent inadvertent contact have caught clothing, hair or appendages of people resulting in scalping, severe bruising, lacerations, broken bones or entanglement causing amputation or death.
Control Measures
Employers and owners of plant that is used in a workplace must ensure that the risk of entanglement is eliminated so far as is reasonably practicable. Where it is not reasonably practicable to eliminate risk associated with plant, the risks must be reduced so far as is reasonably practicable.
Where an employee is undertaking a task that involves working in close proximity to a protruding part on a rotating shaft, the risk of entanglement must be eliminated by suitable means such as: substitution of the semi automatic centre lathe with a fully automatic or CNC lathe fitted with interlocked guards preventing access to the danger area of the plant, and the plant suitably configured to complete the task.
Only in circumstances where elimination of the risk is not reasonably practicable should the following measures be considered
- Contact between people and hazardous mechanisms of machinery and equipment must be prevented through separation by barrier, distance or time (or a combination of these).
Barrier: application of physical barrier, guard or fence that denies access
Distance: hazardous mechanism cannot be reached
Time: At the time, access to the action of the hazardous mechanism is disabled. - Where guarding may not be applied due to the nature of the task, then replacing the protruding bolt with a recessed Allen bolt that sits flush with surface of the coupling device may reduce the risk of entanglement.
Finally, this incident is a reminder of the hazards associated with loose clothing in close proximity to equipment that is turning at high speed or torque. Long hair should also be tied back and kept free from moving parts of machinery.
Generally accepted industry practices for the safe operation and maintenance of machinery and equipment are described in the WorkSafe publication Code of Practice Plant No. 19, and Standards Australia publication Safety of Machinery AS 4024.
