Safety Awakening – Your Workplace Should Be “Kid-Free”
April 9, 2018 No CommentsYears ago I visited a large egg farm. I was brought in to investigate a serious amputation accident that had occurred there a few days before.
I found a huge building that housed thousands of chickens. All of the chickens were confined in tiny cages. I found a network of conveyors that was used to move eggs from the cages to the packaging areas.
The accident that I was investigating was a multi-finger amputation that occurred when one of the employee’s children wandered into the production area and put their hand under a conveyor. The child’s fingers were severed when they were caught in an in-running nip point on the underside of the conveyor!
At this company, employee’s families often picked up their working spouces at the end of the shift. Family members were supposed to wait in the lunchroom until the end of the shift. But one inquisitive kid got bored and walked out into the plant – exploring and poking around. You know the rest of the story.
Children are children. They are curious and love to explore unknown things, especially if they move or make noise.
All employers who have hazardous workplaces need to ensure that employee’s children are never allowed into production areas unless they are closely supervised.
Awakenings