A Western Australian mine has increased safety measures and training after a worker’s arm became briefly trapped in a conveyor.
The case came to a close in the Perth Magistrate’s Court last week when Big Bell Gold, a subsidiary of Westgold Resources, agreed to pay a $400,000 fine over the 2020 incident.
On 21 February 2020, two workers had been contracted to remove a build-up material with tools from under a conveyor while it was still running.
Despite the conveyor belt being protected, a person could reach under the guarding and access moving parts as the guarding stopped around 800 millimetres above the ground.
One of the workers became entangled in the return roller and belt while clearing built-up material from underneath the operational conveyor with a shovel.
A co-worker pulled an emergency lanyard to stop the conveyor and used a crowbar to lift the belt, allowing the contractor to remove his arm. The contractor received lacerations on his left arm.
WorkSafe Commissioner Sally North said the worker was extremely fortunate.
“Companies must ensure all workers have the required training and assessed as competent on the tasks assigned to them,” she said.
“In this instance, the worker had completed a one-hour online safety induction, but it did not cover conveyor safety or isolations.
“This was the supervisor of the jobs’ first day overseeing the plant and he had not received any specific training to perform that role.”
After the incident, Big Bell Gold extended the conveyor guarding and reinforced safety training protocols.
“Our primary focus remains the safety and wellbeing of our workforce, their families, our contracting partners, and the communities in which we operate,” Westgold said.
“We continuously strive to improve and enhance our health and safety systems through employee engagement, performance assessments and industry benchmarking.”
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