Report issued after NSW worker sustains injuries while working on mobile screen

Report Issued After NSW Worker Sustains Injuries While Working on Mobile Screen

The NSW Resources Regulator has released an investigative report concerning an incident in 2023, in which a worker's arm was surgically removed by emergency services to extricate him after it became caught in the idler drum of a moving conveyor belt on a mobile screening unit.

Investigators identified multiple factors that led to the worker's exposure to risk of severe injury or fatality, including the prevalent practice of workers monitoring the mobile screen's conveyor belt without guards in place. This kind of oversight highlights why robust mobile plant safety procedures remain critical on sites where screening equipment operates near personnel.

Key Findings From the Investigation

The regulator's report uncovered several cases in which the mobile screen's health and safety components, including protective guards, emergency stop buttons, and lanyards, were absent, removed, or not operating correctly.

• Workers routinely monitored the conveyor belt without required guarding
• Emergency stop mechanisms were found missing or non-functional
• Lanyards and other critical safety devices had been removed from service

These findings point to systemic gaps in equipment maintenance and monitoring, rather than a single isolated failure. Sites operating similar mobile screening units should review their own procedures against these documented issues, and consider whether existing injury reporting processes would capture near-miss incidents before they escalate.

Why Guarding and Emergency Stops Matter

Conveyor systems on mobile screens present crush and entanglement hazards whenever guards are bypassed or emergency stops fail. Maintaining these controls in working order is not optional under WHS obligations — it's a baseline safety requirement for any site running mobile plant near workers.

Comparable incidents across other sectors reinforce this pattern. Reports such as the safety warning issued after an SA mine worker sustained serious injuries and the case where a worker sustained critical injuries after being struck by a forklift in Manly show similar themes: missing guards, bypassed controls, and inadequate monitoring routines.

Broader Implications for Site Safety

Fatal outcomes remain a risk when guarding failures go unaddressed, as demonstrated in the report on a NSW factory worker who sustained fatal injuries after being struck by a steel beam. Each of these reports reinforces a consistent message for construction, manufacturing, and heavy industry operators: equipment safety controls must be verified regularly, not assumed to be functioning. Businesses managing contractors around mobile plant may also benefit from clear worker and contractor manuals outlining expectations for equipment checks, guarding, and emergency procedures before work begins.

Recommendations for Employers

• Verify guards remain fitted and secured before every shift involving mobile screens
• Test emergency stop buttons and lanyards as part of routine pre-start checks
• Document any missing or non-functional safety component immediately
• Review monitoring practices to eliminate close-proximity work near unguarded conveyors

Access the complete investigation report here via the NSW Resources Regulator.