Dauma is a facility that produces a variety of construction materials, including bricks, cement, clay, and concrete, using concrete block machines, cement making machines, and other potentially hazardous equipment. Incidents that may result in injuries or even death occur on the Dauma premises (Odenigbo et al., 2019). This article aims to provide a detailed analysis of an accident that happened on Dauma’s premises on April 12, 2022, and an investigative report on the possible causes. A manual concrete block-making machine was involved in an accident at Dauma on April 12, 2020. The mixer part of the machine, which was spinning at high speed, disengaged and spilled its contents on the workers. Three employees were seriously injured, and one died due to the malfunction.
The first step taken in investigating the incident was to assess the accident; this involves identifying the injured employees and the severity of the injury. Three employees were found to have been seriously wounded, one of whom was rendered unconscious. In addition, a fatal case was also registered. After the identification, immediate medical attention was sought for the three as the body of the dead one was evacuated. At the time, more potential har from the machine had been quenched.
The opinions of the injured employees who recovered quickly were sought. The witnesses were questioned about the incident’s timing, nature, and cause. To further investigate the matter, incident reports and witness statements were taken. The critical questions probed the employees’ qualifications, ability to follow procedures, the company’s supervision system, and potential prevention measures.
The scene was meticulously examined following the accident, and all evidence was collected for further investigation. Photographs were taken of a broken machine, a mixer component, and all sides of the premise where the spill-offs had reached. The evidence gathered at this stage must be able to answer questions such as how the problem began (Academic.Csuohio.Edu, 2022). In addition, the situation should be rectified, and methods for preventing future issues should be investigated.
After a careful analysis of the evidence collected, it was noted that the part attached to the rolling machine had a crack that had stayed unnoticed for approximately two weeks. That was a major hazard that bore the problem. It was also established that maintenance of Dauma’s machines is not done as recommended; it is also clear that the operators were negligent of the signs indicated by the device before it broke.
Theories of causation attempt to explain what brought about the problem. Evidence from this accident at Dauma can be presented by some views, some of which are Ferrell’s Human Factor Model and Domino theory. Ferrell’s Human Factor Model states that accidents result from a casual chain where the major cause is human error, which can be caused by overload, incompatibility, and improper activities (Academic.Csuohio.Edu, 2022). Using Ferrell’s theory, the incident at Dauma was likely caused by load, the mismatch of capacity, load, and state. The machine had a weak point and could not carry the usual load comfortably, thus leading to a breakdown. Domino’s theory states that all accidents result from a chain of events that consist of sequential factors, namely ancestry and social environment, an individual’s mistake, an unsafe action and physical hazard, the actual accident, and injury or death. If one of the factors is removed, the danger is evaded. In the case of Dauma, the ancestry correlates to the weak nature of the machine. The individual’s mistake is reflected in the failure of the operator to detect the flaw.
Reference
Academic.Csuohio.Edu. (2022), “Learning Ensemble”. Learning Ensemble, Web.
Odenigbo, C., Julien, N., Douma, N. B., & Lacasse, A. (2019). The importance of chronic pain education and awareness amongst occupational safety and health professionals. Journal of Pain Research, 12, 1385.