The South Australian Business Chamber Member San Remo is sharing a safety alert to remind pasta manufacturers of their obligations as duty holders in considering reasonably practicable control measures to manage the risk of plant in the workplace where guarding is used.
Background
On 19 June 2019 a worker employed by San Remo was injured when he attempted to clear a blockage and opened a rear guard on a pasta machine and placed his hand into the machine to retrieve some dough without stopping the machine. The worker sustained a partial amputation to two of his right fingertips when his hand came in contact with a moving blade of the machine located below a chute and behind the machine’s rear guard.
Reminder of duty holder obligations
If access to plant is not necessary during operation, maintenance or cleaning, guards must be permanently fixed.
Where access to plant requiring guarding is necessary during the operation, maintenance or cleaning of the plant, the guarding is interlocked as a physical barrier, which allows access to the area being guarded at times when a risk is not present.
If it is not reasonably practicable to implement the above control measures, the guard must require the use of tools to remove it or includes a presence-sensing system to eliminate any risk arising from the guarding being removed from the area of plant.
Training in safe work practices involving the use of guards should be documented as is reasonably practicable.
Further Information
For further information you can access Managing the risks of plant in the workplace: Code of Practice and the Australian Standard AS4024.1: Safety of machinery (parts 1601 and 1602).
If you need advice, please contact the South Australian Business Chamber’s WHS experts on (08) 8300 0000.
