Safety warning after drill death

A coroner has ordered a safety warning to be issued after a man died when his clothing was caught in a hydraulic drill at a Whangarei quarry.

Wairoa Robert Houston, 53, died after he was caught in the rotating shaft of a hydraulic drill at Golden Bay Cement's Wilsonville Quarry at Hikurangi, on April 2.

The inquest was told Mr Houston, a self-employed drilling contractor, was changing rods in a hydraulic drill when it caught his clothing.

Coroner Peter Mahood found the death was accidental, resulting from multiple fractures. However, he said there were lessons to be learned from the tragedy.

Mr Houston was a careful and experienced drilling operator. He had not drunk alcohol, was wearing clothing commonly worn for the job and carried out his job in a way that was standard practice in the industry, Mr Mahood said.

"If this kind of accident can happen to an experienced operator ... we have a situation which does require urgent thought as to remedies," he said.

In his recommendations, Mr Mahood said an Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) safety bulletin should highlight the dangers Mr Houston's death had revealed. The bulletin should also make appropriate recommendations to avoid similar accidents in future.

Mr Mahood encouraged operators to use newer machines, which cut out automatically if the operator left the drill controls.

However, when a contractor was changing the rods on an older-style rig without automatic cut-off, a second person should help, to minimise the risk.

An OSH report on the accident recommended no legal action be taken.

However, OSH Northland service manager Richard Willis said the industry should take all practical steps to ensure safety, including training, education and supervision.

It should also look for ways to improve the safety systems on existing rigs that did not have automatic cut-off.

Mr Willis said it was the preferred practice to change rods by hand when the machine was off, but it was slower than doing it while the machine was running.

"That's why supervision is essential to ensure these habits don't creep up and become an acceptable way of doing business."

- NZPA