Valmet Ltd Supplied All the Mill Machinery at the Paper Mill 

After the USW Paper Sector shared the Hazard Alert on a recent fatality involving falling into a paper pulper machine, UNITE the Union in the UK, who we share our Workers Uniting initiative with and who helped us extensively in developing our Making and Converting Paper Safety plan, shared the following incident regarding a fall into a Valmet paper pulper machine in the UK.  Please make sure you check the areas around pulping machines for improper guarding and fall hazards.  We will announcing an initiative around pulper fall protection in the new year.  This is the 3rd fatality for the USW Paper Sector involving falling in a pulper.

From UNITE:  

An industrial equipment supplier, Valmet,  has appeared in court again after a worker nearly died after falling into a paper pulping machine. It comes less than 12 months after it was fined for the ‘horrific’ death of two young workers at a woodchip factory. The court heard that it was ‘pure luck’ the pulp blades were not working when the 47-year old man fell 7m, approximately 23 ft, down into the machine at the paper mill. The worker had fallen down off an unprotected edge while carrying out maintenance work on a drive shaft, the court was told. The work involved tightening coupling bolts with a torque. The wrench slipped off the bolt head causing him to fall backwards into the paper pulping machine. He then had to swim to the side of the pulper in the darkness in 2.5m, a little over 8 ft, of water to call for help, having sustained a broken foot. 

HSE found that although a supervisor had carried out numerous risk assessments on the day of the incident on July 9, 2014, the hazard of working at height was not identified. “A worker was exposed to a serious risk which could have resulted in death. It was pure luck that the pulper blades were not working or that the injured person did not drown,” said investigating HSE Inspector Adam McMahon. “Risk assessments are the foundation for the effective control of risks. Time should be afforded to those who are required to complete them to ensure the hazards are identified and risks are controlled in order to safeguard workers.” 

For more information, copy and paste the following link into your browser: https://sm.britsafe.org/valmet-fined-again-after-man-falls-7m-pulping-machine#sthash.mAHNz7Lk.dpuf