WORKSAFE WA has issued a safety alert after a worker was crushed to death by an unsecured stack of medium density fibreboard (MDF) panels.
The worker and another employee had been holding a stack of MDF panels while trying to access a panel further back in the stack. The panels had been stacked leaning against the wall of a workshop, and were unsecured with racking or strapping.
They tried to balance the stack of panels vertically while reaching behind the stack to access another panel.
The stack lost balance and the worker attempted to stop the fall. He suffered a fatal injury when he was pushed to the workshop floor under the panels.
There were nine or ten panels, each weighing 40kg, and this weight combined with the velocity of the falling fibreboards resulted in a fatal force.
The safety authority has urged employers to reduce the crushing risk at the workplace by means of engineering controls and by implementing safe systems of work for the storage, movement and handling of heavy material.
Employers should also ensure workers who store, move and handle heavy materials are trained and skilled in carrying out their duties, as well as implement means of reducing the risk of injury from manual handling.

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