An article in today's San Fransisco Chronicle is titled "Worker crushed at South San Francisco asphalt plant". The article states:
"A worker at a South San Francisco asphalt plant was killed Wednesday when the machine he was repairing turned on and crushed him, authorities said today.
'It looks like an industrial accident, but we have to make sure all the T's are crossed and everything,' said South San Francisco police Sgt. Joni Lee."
What bothers me is the statement "it looks like an industrial accident." There is no such thing as an accident. If you read the article the cause of the "accident" is clear. Proper Lockout/Tagout procedures were not used prior to starting the work. I understand the police officer is looking at this from the perspective of whether or not a police investigation is needed. But still, this is an "accident" that could easily have been prevented. When it comes to safety, there is no such thing as an accident.
"A worker at a South San Francisco asphalt plant was killed Wednesday when the machine he was repairing turned on and crushed him, authorities said today.
'It looks like an industrial accident, but we have to make sure all the T's are crossed and everything,' said South San Francisco police Sgt. Joni Lee."
What bothers me is the statement "it looks like an industrial accident." There is no such thing as an accident. If you read the article the cause of the "accident" is clear. Proper Lockout/Tagout procedures were not used prior to starting the work. I understand the police officer is looking at this from the perspective of whether or not a police investigation is needed. But still, this is an "accident" that could easily have been prevented. When it comes to safety, there is no such thing as an accident.
Labels: workplace fatalities, workplace safety
2 Comments:
At 9:06 AM,
Anonymous said…
Sure there is. People do what they intend without intending to get injured... the unplanned outcome was accidental. The probability of risk comes into play here. Sure all accidents are preventable, but this depends on several factors, one being the individual seeing and appreciating the risk. His planned actions resulted in an accidental outcome...
At 7:42 AM,
Anonymous said…
I doubt he planned on his coworker turning it on "accidentally" knowing someone was working on or near the machine.
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