British Precast issues warning after crush death

Image: The saw machine (left) and the wire laying machine (right). The very small gap between the two passing machines can clearly be seen.

British Precast has warned manufacturers they must ensure there is sufficient space between machinery to avoid operatives being crushed, after it issued an incident alert in conjunction with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

The alert came after a worker received fatal head injuries on 5 June 2014 in a case still being investigated by the HSE, when he was caught between two rail-mounted machines used in the production of concrete goods.

The worker was operating an automatic sawing machine on a pre-stressing line when it was passed by a machine laying out the wires on the adjacent track. The deceased was standing on a working platform on the stationary sawing machine while the other machine passed.

The gap between the two passing machines was approximately 65mm and the worker appears to have lent forward into the path of the oncoming machine resulting in fatal crush and shear head injuries, according to British Precast.

A statement from British Precast said: "British standards, including BS EN 349, provide minimum gaps to avoid crushing parts of the human body and additional information to assist reviews of machinery placement. Check that there is sufficient clearance between rail mounted machinery and other machinery and obstructions which may be present (particularly on end rails). Check that a suitable and sufficient risk assessment of machinery operation has been carried out for multi-line stressing systems."