Reflection on Press Molding Machine Crush Injury Accident

1 Ineffective execution of daily inspectionAs the direct user of equipment, operators bear responsibility for daily inspection, which serves as the first line of defense for equipment safety management. Comprehensive and standardized daily inspection must be implemented. The operator failed to conduct inspection as required, so the light‑curtain fault went undetected, constituting the direct cause of this work‑related injury. Enhanced safety‑awareness training shall be provided for team leaders and operators. Daily confirmation of operators’ inspection execution shall be carried out to guarantee inspection effectiveness.

2 Missing weekly patrol inspection

Weekly patrol inspection by maintenance technicians is critical for identifying equipment safety hazards and verifying the performance of safety components, which can effectively detect defects and damage to safety‑related parts. Since this press molding machine was infrequently used for production, the maintenance manager neglected duties and excluded it from the weekly patrol inspection plan. Consequently, the faulty safety light curtain was not discovered in time, and the safety accident eventually occurred. Patrol inspection and maintenance procedures shall be established and implemented for all production equipment. Even low‑frequency‑use equipment shall not be overlooked. The production equipment inventory shall be reorganized to ensure patrol inspection and maintenance management for every single unit. 

3 Press molding machine excluded from monthly safety blind‑spot hazard management

Monthly safety blind‑spot hazard management plays an important role in filling gaps and driving improvement, enabling comprehensive review of the adequacy and suitability of equipment safety‑protection systems. That the press molding machine was left out of the inspection plan exposed persistent blind spots in equipment management, failing to cover all production equipment, and safety‑protection design defects could not be effectively identified. Previously, the machine could still operate normally even if its light curtain was damaged or powered off, which was another contributing factor to the accident. Modifications have been made to the light‑curtain control circuit. Now the equipment cannot run when the light curtain loses power or malfunctions, fundamentally eliminating potential accident risks. 

Once safety components fail, equipment will lose its safety‑protection capability entirely. Minor equipment defects may rapidly escalate into severe safety accidents. No negligence is permissible in equipment safety management, and full coverage of all production equipment must be achieved. Daily and weekly inspections ensure compliance of equipment safety functions, while monthly safety blind‑spot management continuously evaluates the adequacy and suitability of equipment safety. Error‑proofing concepts shall be adopted to steadily improve equipment safety and reliability. Only in this way can an increasingly safe working environment be built.