2018 Fairfield Quarry Clermont
15/11/2018 -
Fairfield Quarry -
Crush Injury, Entanglement /
Conveyer-belt accident
On Thursday 15 November 2018, a Conner-Shaye Milne (21) was fatally injured at a quarry when he became entangled in the rotating tail drum of a conveyor belt. A co-worker activated the emergency stop device fitted to the conveyor.
Preliminary findings indicate that the tail drum guard had been removed to allow rocks to be cleared and the conveyor was operating with the guard removed when the incident occurred.
This accident claimed the life of Connor Milne
Recommendations
- Always stop and isolate a conveyor before undertaking work on the conveyor.
- Never operate a conveyor without the necessary guarding in place.
- Always operate and maintain the conveyor in a way that eliminates or reduces the occurrence of spillage, requiring the need to remove guarding to clear it.
- Ensure that personnel operating or maintaining conveyors understand the hazards and risks and the critical controls, such as separation through fixed guarding and isolation lock-out, necessary to prevent serious injury or death.
- Conduct regular inspections and monitoring to ensure that critical controls are in place and are effective.
Other Information
Quarry operator fined $180,000 for breaching safety obligations resulting in the loss of a young man’s life
26 February 2021
On 25 February 2021 a quarry operator and two of its employees pleaded guilty and were sentenced in the Emerald Industrial Magistrates Court for offences relating to failing to ensure risk to persons from quarrying operations was at an acceptable level.
A 21-year-old worker died from injuries he suffered on 15 November 2018 when he was pulled into the tail pulley of a conveyor. Prior to the incident, guarding – the physical barrier between moving machinery and workers – had been removed, exposing the worker and his co-worker to the hazards present on the conveyor.
Charges were laid against the quarry operator, its site senior executive and a supervisor following an investigation by the Queensland Mines Inspectorate.
The industrial Magistrate imposed a fine of $180,000 on the quarry operator and fines of $45,000 and $10,000 on the site senior executive and supervisor respectively.
In sentencing, the magistrate had regard to complacency at the quarry site and inadequate attention to safety.
The penalties imposed highlight the seriousness with which the law treats employers’ and their officers’ obligations to ensure the safety and health of their workers.
Chief Inspector of Mines, Hermann Fasching said: “the tragic loss of a young worker’s life is a stark reminder to industry of the need to maintain a chronic sense of unease about the safety of their workplaces and practices”.