A harvest accident in the Mid North that left a woman hospitalised has prompted a reminder for famers to engage handbrakes before exiting machinery cabins.
Emergency services responded to an incident at Mundoora about 8pm on Wednesday, 30 November. A woman was taken to Royal Adelaide Hospital after sustaining a broken pelvis, six broken ribs and a fractured wrist.
SafeWork SA inspectors attended the scene and discovered the incident occurred when the stationary combine harvester uncontrollably rolled forward and struck the woman.
A Prohibition Notice was issued to ensure that the harvester is not used until inspected by a competent person and operating correctly as per the manufacturer’s instructions.
With the harvesting season approaching an end, SafeWork SA reminds all farm workers to be aware of their Work Health & Safety (WHS) obligations and to ensure that handbrakes are always applied when machinery is not being used or when the operator leaves the cabin.
Combine harvesters are a very large piece of plant and are extremely heavy.
Failing to apply the handbrake can be extremely dangerous, particularly on sloping ground.
WHS Regulation 215 outlines mobile plant specific control measures including managing risks of the plant colliding with any person or thing.
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