Manufacturing plant fatality (28 February 2022)
A fatality has occurred at a manufacturing plant in Moorebank. A 43-year-old worker was undertaking maintenance above a guarded area on a polystyrene shape moulding machine, when a large hydraulically powered arm came into contact with the worker, causing fatal crush injuries.
Polystyrene shape moulding machine involved in the incident
Safety Information
Implement ‘reasonably practicable’ control measures to manage the risks associated with plant maintenance.
Businesses must ensure:
- all maintenance activities are carried out in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations
- an assessment of the guarded plant, as well as the surrounding workplace, is undertaken to ensure that no structures or objects within the workplace provide workers with an ability to by-pass plant guarding. By-passing or disabling the guarding, whether deliberate or accidental, must be made as difficult as is reasonably practicable
- procedures are in place for isolating and locking out energy sources, and for dissipating stored energy, for example, electricity, hydraulics, pneumatics, before accessing hazardous areas.
Accessing plant
- if access to the area of plant is not necessary during operation, maintenance or cleaning, the guarding should have a permanently fixed barrier
- if access is necessary during operation, maintenance or cleaning, the guarding should have an interlocked physical barrier. Access to the hazardous area should only be possible when the hazard has been controlled by others means e.g., isolation.
Operating plant
If plant needs to be operated while being maintained or cleaned, the person with management or control of the plant must ensure:
- the operator’s controls:
- are designed for such purposes
- are operated only by the person carrying out the maintenance or cleaning, or where that is not reasonably practicable, by an authorised person
- allow the plant to be operated in such a way that eliminates risks or, if that is not reasonably practicable, minimises the risks so far as reasonably practicable, e.g., inching or jogging mode.
- procedures are in place to allow maintenance and cleaning, without risk to the health and safety of the person performing the work
- workers are trained in such procedures and are following them.
Subscribe to the SafeWork NSW manufacturing e-newsletter
Related information
- Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (Chapter 5, Division 7)
- Managing the risks of plant in the workplace - Code of Practice SafeWork NSW
- Leading safer manufacturing workplaces - SafeWork NSW
- Machine safety pack fact sheets - SafeWork NSW