Inadequate guarding led to mincer accident

01 December 2004

The Department of Labour's occupational safety and health service is working with a national supplier of mincing machines to ensure they are adequately guarded before being sold.

OSH Otago service manager Mark Murray said the initiative was the result of an investigation started in August, after a three-year old girl suffered partial finger amputations when she got her hand caught in a mincing machine used to crush peanuts in a family restaurant in Dunedin.

Mr Murray said the accident investigation raised two areas of concern: the adequacy of plant and equipment guarding, and the supervision of children in the workplace.

'In this case, the mincer had been bought some years earlier and wasn't adequately guarded. This allowed the little girl to get her hand caught in the moving parts, with devastating results.'

OSH and the supply company are now working together to ensure machinery such as mincers and grinders have appropriate guards in place. Anyone with concerns about machine guarding should contact their supplier in the first instance. Guarding is inadequate when it's possible to touch moving parts or trapping points.

Mr Murray said even though there were good measures in place to ensure the safety of the girl in the restaurant kitchen, it only took 'a split second' for the girl to get into trouble.

'Workplaces are potentially dangerous places, so it's very important that when children are in the workplace they are under direct adult supervision at all times.

'I would encourage all workplaces to reflect on what has happened to this family, and take the time to review their plant and machinery guarding and improve arrangements for young people in the workplace.'

OSH has produced a number of publications on machinery guarding, and these can be found on the website www.osh.dol.govt.nz