Date of incident: July 2022
Notice of incident number: 2022181890007
Employer: Wood products manufacturer

Incident summary
A young and new worker at a lumber mill was working near a driveshaft on a greenchain, a machine that moves processed lumber. The driveshaft was 2.5 cm in diameter and 72 cm in height from the floor, and it energized five belts near the end of the greenchain. The worker’s gloved hands were caught around the rotating driveshaft, which pulled the worker’s body into the machine. He sustained serious injuries.

Investigation conclusions

Cause

• Worker drawn into unguarded machine. During a pause in production when no lumber was moving along the greenchain, the worker placed both of his gloved hands onto the unguarded, rotating driveshaft. The worker was unable to let go of his grip on the driveshaft and was pulled into the machine and around the driveshaft. The worker’s work area, and the surrounding area, did not have any safeguards in place to protect workers from approaching and contacting any of the exposed energized equipment. Had the equipment been effectively guarded as required by the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation, the worker would not have been able to contact the rotating driveshaft that drew him into the machine.

Contributing factors

• Lack of hazard identification. The employer did not perform or document a formal hazard identification and therefore was unable to effectively assess the risks that its workers were exposed to while performing their work duties. Had the employer identified the hazards related to the driveshaft prior to the incident, the risks could have been mitigated with proper guarding.
• Inadequate training and supervision of young and new worker. On the day of the incident, the worker was a young worker who was new to his assigned role as a mill worker. He had not been provided with adequate training or orientation to the work process, and he was not being supervised while performing his new work duties. The employer did not provide him with adequate information, training, instruction, and supervision as required. The employer also did not provide health and safety orientation and training specific to his workplace as required.

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