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Case No.29
| Case No.29 Worker killed by being struck by a punch |
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| [Circumstances of Incident] This accident occurred at a plant where construction machinery is manufactured and repaired. In the morning of the day, the victim was operating a plasma cutter in the welding and assembly plant to cut plates from iron slabs to affix rubber to a belt conveyer chute. No one witnessed the victim working on the cutter in the morning. It is assumed, however, that after completing the plate cutting work, the victim went to a press machine to make holes in the iron plates through which a fastener can affix the plate to wedges on the belt conveyers. After mounting the punch and die on the press machine and positioning the first plate between the punch and the die, the worker stepped on the footswitch. The punch then suddenly broke free and struck the left side of the worker's chest. The victim was found lying on the floor at some distance from the machine with blood coming from his chest. He is believed to have moved there by himself. He was rushed by ambulance to a hospital but died due to loss of blood, as the punch penetrated his chest and pierced his heart. |
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| [Causes] The following can be cited as the direct causes of this accident. 1 It is believed that the punch broken free due to its inadequate strength and some corrosion that had generated inside. 2. In operating press machines or shearing machines, processed materials or fixtures are often broken due to shock and other damage, causing flying objects to injure operators. In order to protect workers from such risks, enclosures or covers must be installed around these machines. However, such measures were not taken in this plant at the time of the accident. |
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| [Type of business] Machinery (excluding precision machinery)
equipment manufacturing [Type of accident] Flying objects [Number of victims] One fatality |
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