One person’s careless moment led to the tragedy of 7 workers dying in 30 seconds at Yen Bai Cement Factory?

Carelessness in the process of turning off and on electricity was the cause of the tragedy?

Regarding the occupational accident at the Cement Factory belonging to Yen Bai Cement and Mineral Joint Stock Company (group 12, Yen Binh town, Yen Binh district, Yen Bai province) causing 7 deaths and 3 deaths. injured person, the Yen Bai Provincial Police Investigation Agency decided to prosecute the criminal case “Violation of labor safety regulations” to clarify the cause of the ‘tragedy’.

Through collecting evidence, testimony and examining the scene, the Investigation Agency prosecuted and temporarily detained Tran Manh Hung (born in 1980, residing in group 8, Yen Thinh ward, Yen Bai city, Yen province). Bai), is a material weighing employee of the Cement Factory to investigate the crime of “Violating regulations on labor safety”, stipulated in Clause 3, Article 295 of the 2015 Penal Code.

Currently, the investigation agency has not reached a conclusion and has not provided specific information about the violations of suspect Tran Manh Hung, however, a representative of Yen Bai Cement Factory (belonging to Yen Bai Cement and Mineral Joint Stock Company) said. Knowing that, in accordance with labor safety procedures, after turning off the power, the workers went into the cage to tighten the screws and replace the lining plates. Due to carelessness in the process of turning off and on the power, the main engine of crusher No. 3 operated for about 30 seconds, moving the furnace, causing a serious occupational accident.

How does the crusher work?

Ball mills are equipment commonly applied in many fields such as cement production, iron ore processing, construction materials industry, iron and steel industry, and chemical industry. The design of the ball mill serves the process of grinding materials from coarse to fine and extremely fine, capable of operating in two ways: dry grinding or wet method.

According to a construction material production machine expert who spoke to Ho Chi Minh City Law Newspaper, when the ball mill operates and generates centrifugal force, the steel balls push up to a certain height and then fall down, hitting hard. to crush materials in the crushing chamber.

All types of materials that need to be crushed such as ore, gravel, stone, hard metals, etc. are turned into fine powder after the grinding process. Next, they are discharged through the cyclone centrifugal system to complete the grinding stage of the ball mill, before continuing to the next stages in the ore crushing production chain.

In addition, Dr. Nguyen Tien Dung, an expert in mechanical engineering, told Health & Life magazine that when the ball mill operates and generates centrifugal force, it pushes the steel balls up to a certain height. Fall down and hit hard to crush the material in the crushing chamber.

For employees performing repair and maintenance work on equipment such as crushers, understanding and correctly implementing Lockout/Tagout (LOTO) safety procedures is extremely important.

LOTO is a safety procedure that includes the following steps: turning off the power, locking and attaching a warning label, and finally unlocking and removing the warning label when the job is completed. Strict adherence to LOTO procedures eliminates the risk of injury due to unexpected activation of mechanical equipment during maintenance.

Are labor safety procedures guaranteed?

Prof. Dr. Le Van Trinh – Chairman of the Vietnam OSH Science Association said in the Labor & Trade Union Magazine that up to this point it is not possible to draw conclusions about the cause of the occupational accident because the authorities A thorough investigation is still underway.

However, from the technical perspective of labor safety, it can be seen that first of all, crusher No. 3 that had an incident at Yen Bai Cement and Mineral Joint Stock Company is an equipment with strict requirements on labor safety. and need to comply with periodic inspection as prescribed by law.

In the above accident, the injured worker recounted that he tried to crawl to the control center to turn off the power and stop the machine completely. But at that time, the control center was empty. It took this worker time to press all the control buttons to finally turn off the machine.

This raises the question: at the time of the accident, was the control center staffed and controlling the hazard?

With the published information about the incident, Director of the Institute of Occupational Safety and Health Nguyen Anh Tho pointed out in Dan Tri newspaper that many safety steps are required in the maintenance process at a medium-sized factory was not implemented.

Mr. Nguyen Anh Tho told the above source: “A technological machinery system that is maintained with a team of 10 people and suddenly restarts while it is stopped is beyond imagination. The cause of the crusher’s operation will be investigated in detail. However, it can be seen that a technological system being maintained, whether there is a person or not, cannot be automated.”

What to do to avoid tragedy?

After the accident that killed 7 people, Chairman of Yen Bai Provincial People’s Committee Tran Huy Tuan signed an official dispatch requesting departments, branches, localities, People’s Committees of districts, towns, cities, and local businesses to Provincial table to strengthen the implementation of measures to ensure labor safety and handle labor accidents that occurred at Yen Bai Cement and Mineral Joint Stock Company.

The Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee requested the Department of Construction to coordinate with the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs and relevant agencies to direct businesses to carefully review regulations, standards, and mineral exploitation and processing processes. production of cement and other construction materials, promptly overcome shortcomings and limitations, ensuring absolute safety for workers. Regularly inspect labor safety during construction works. Strictly handle violations of legal regulations on labor safety in construction projects; Resolutely stop construction and stop using machines and equipment when detecting violations of labor safety.

The Department of Health directs the organization of information, education and communication activities, guidance, supervision, training, professional and technical training on occupational hygiene, worker health, first aid skills, and first aid skills. rescuing workers for businesses and production and business establishments.

The Provincial Industrial Park Management Board presides and coordinates with relevant departments and branches to organize propaganda, guidance and inspection of businesses and units operating in Industrial Parks to implement legal regulations on occupational safety and hygiene and strictly handle violations of occupational safety and hygiene.

People’s Committees of districts, towns and cities regularly direct propaganda and dissemination of knowledge and laws on occupational safety and hygiene on mass media for workers and businesses. businesses, production and business establishments in the area to raise awareness and responsibility for compliance with labor laws. Direct continued strict implementation of the Law on Occupational Safety and Health.

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