In December, 2021, there are 16 fatal workplace accidents in Shanghai's industrial, mining, commercial and trading sectors with a total of 16 fatalities.Typical accidents in December
On December 3, at a construction site at No.500, Lanxianghu Road S., Minhang District, a worker from Shanghai Shengyu Construction Engineering Co. Ltd fell through an inspection hole on the floor and died in the basement.
On December 6, at the decoration site of Shanghai Xinjie Restaurant at Room 203, No.567, Tianshan Road W., Changning District, a worker had an electric shock and died when installing ceiling lights.On December 14, at a testing workshop of Shanghai Weihong Smart Technology Co. Ltd. on No.1590 Huhang Highway, Fengxian District, a worker’s head was caught within structures of a sheet laser cutting machine when the worker reached head into the machine to inspect cutting results. The worker sustained a head injury and died.On December 15, at a workshop of Shanghai Liandong Technology Co. Ltd. at Building 9, No.625 Rongchang Road, Jinshan District, a worker lost balance and was hit by a steel roll in the head. The worker died.
On December 21, at a workshop of Shanghai Ruihong Jiabang Environmental Equipment Co. Ltd. on No.2009, Xupan Road, Jiading District, two workers were standing on the platform of a mobile lift to repair a crane’s electric engine. The crane suddenly fell to one side. One worker died and the other one was seriously injured.Typical workplace accidents in previous Decembers
“2019.12.20” Heavy-lifting fatal accident at No.400 Dock, Gongqing Road
At about 9 am, December 20, 2019, at No.400 Dock, Gongqing Road, workers were using a portal slewing crane to lift concrete pipes from a small cargo ship onto a big cargo ship. In the process, a concrete pipe hit a ship cabin wall, bounced back and hit the worker who was orchestrating the loading. The worker died.The worker was not following workplace safety protocol when orchestrating the job.
Shanghai Weifeng Shipping Co. Ltd. did not have complete workplace safety protocols and operating guidance. Before the project, the workers involved did not have a safety briefing, neither did they organize workplace safety education and training activities. They did not have special operators with certificates to work on the project. The company did not carry out rigorous reviews of its own workplace safety capabilities and failed to identify, let alone eliminate, potential risks in time.
Punishment of stakeholders responsible for accidentDistrict emergency management bureau imposed administrative penalties upon Shanghai Weifeng Shipping Co. Ltd. and its legal representative respectively.“2020.12.12” Falling from height accident at Lane 288, Hongwan Road
At about 2:40 pm, December 12, 2020, at Building 13, Lane 288, Hongwan Road. A worker fell off from an air conditioner outdoor unit platform while collecting garbage and died. The worker lost balance during the cleaning work, fell off from the platform on 16F.Shanghai Boxi Construction Engineering Co. Ltd. failed to properly manage its workplace safety. The managing team did not stop workers who did not wear personal protection equipment during dangerous jobs, and did not take any publishment actions. The company did not have meaningful safety educations. As a result, its workers had low awareness of workplace safety, lack basic sense of self-protection and work against protocols. To save time and trouble, the perished worker was not wearing any safety belt when the accident happened.Punishment of stakeholders responsible for accidentDistrict emergency management bureau imposed administrative penalties upon Shanghai Boxi Construction Engineering Co. Ltd. and its legal representative respectively.
As Spring Festival is fast approaching, some business and manufacturing operations are going to stop. Workplace safety risks will rise when equipment are stopped/restarted as well as people leave or come back to their jobs.
Properly design and execute plans of shutting down and restarting equipment and production systems. Review the workplace more carefully to identify all possible risks. For equipment that are going to be offline during the long holiday, companies shall ensure that the machines and systems have undergone complete checks before they are put back online. Design emergency handling plans, and organize drills in time. Make sure that once an emergency happens, all personnel involved will act professionally.
Some industries that have high turnover rates will welcome many new workers after the Spring Festival. Combined with the lingering relaxed mood during the holiday, accidents are more likely to happen when everyone comes back to work – even accidents with mass casualties might happen. For companies prone to this type of risk, they shall design customized workplace safety educational programs for workers at all levels. By solidly carrying out safety training, they can effectively raise workers’ safety awareness. Companies shall pay more attention in safe operating trainings to familiarize new workers with their new jobs.
