摘要：On November 4, an accident happened at a warehouse at No.155 Gongchuang Road. An operator was standing on a truck to support the o

Bulletin of typical workplace accidents in Shanghai, November 2024

Overview

Some Accidents in November

On November 4, an accident happened at a warehouse at No.155 Gongchuang Road. An operator was standing on a truck to support the offloading of steel pipes. Some pipes slipped onto the ground and brought down the individual, who was hit by the pipes and died.

On November 12, an accident occurred at No.38, Lane 420, Yinhang Road. An operator from Shanghai Xinwen Construction Waterproof Engineering Co., Ltd. fell from the roof of the seven-story building and died.

On November 13, an accident occurred at the iAPM Mall at No.999, Huaihai Road M. An operator from Zengli Cleaning (Guangzhou) Co., Ltd. Shanghai Branch was using a lift table to clean a high place. The table tipped over and threw the cleaner to the ground, who died from the accident.

On November 18, an accident happened at the cold storage warehouse at No.212 Wenbing Road. A team organized by Shanghai Badi Advertising Media Co., Ltd. was doing a repairment work on the mezzanine floor in the warehouse. An operator fell to the ground and died.

On November 27, an accident occurred at the CPIC Xintiandi Commercial Center. An operator from FBA GOMYL FALLPROTEC was checking steel wires at the glass ceiling. The individual fell to the ground and died.

Workplace Accidents in Previous Novembers

Summary of the accident：

At 7:02 pm, November 9, 2022, an accident occurred at Floor 2, No.5 Factory of a Shanghai logistics company at No.518 Jiasong Road M. The operators were handling discarded non-empty aerosol cans. A flash fire caused a big explosion and a fire. Three people were killed, five seriously injured. The fire burned about 7,000 square meters of the factory space.

Direct cause:

While operators were handling the discarded cans, flammable gas evaporated from the broken cans mixed up with open air and reached the explosive limit. A blast happened after the concentration of air and gas met an ignition source. The flammable materials in the factory caught on fire and the fire began to spread.

Indirect cause：

1. The job organizer and the legal representative of the logistics company were aware that there were residue flammable gases remaining in those aerosol cans and the job has a risk of fire. However, they violated safety protocols and organized operators to handle these cans within the factory building.

All operators were temporary workers who lacked safety knowledge for handling flammable materials. They were not wearing anti-static clothing, not using explosion-proof gear, and not following safety standard operating procedures, such as handling with care, avoiding rubbing and collision. Their actions created sources of ignition and lit up the fire.

2. The logistics company did not have a clear-defined safety and fire prevention system. Workers were not aware of their responsibilities, neither were they required to implement safety actions. When the temporary workers entered the factory to handle those cans, they were not briefed about the hazards of the job, did not participate in safety training and did not learn prevention actions or emergency response plans. They had no anti-static clothing and blast-proof gear. The company did not require the workers to handle the cans with care, avoid rubbing or hitting, and learn standard operating procedures.

3. The two landlord companies did not supervise the work safety management of their tenants. They did not sign specific workplace safety management agreements, did not organize effective safety patrols, and did not regularly review their tenants’ safety Hazards and fire risks. They did not fulfill their safety responsibilities.

Problems with supervision：

The Huaxin Township People’s Government did not effectively fulfill its work safety responsibilities and did not implement an accountability system for work safety over its jurisdiction. It did not organize effective supervision patrols and checks. It did not strictly supervise work safety issues.

The Mayang Village failed to implement an accountability system either. It did not check regularly on and evaluate the company causing the accident according to the work safety agreement it had signed. Its patrol was not effective and did not identify the hazards and illegal operations within its jurisdiction.

Punishment for the accident：

Judicial authorities are pursuing criminal liabilities of the legal representative of the logistic company who had organized this operation.

The director and a deputy director of the town as well as the Party secretary (who is also the director) and a deputy director of the village were punished.

Shanghai Emergency Management Bureau imposed administrative penalties upon the logistic company and its two landlord companies as well as their legal representatives or its president.

Recommendations：

1. Companies involved in the accident must thoroughly learn from this tragedy and take up their work safety and fire prevention responsibilities. They must further improve the management of flammable and explosive gas materials according to Chinese laws and regulations.

They must establish specific safety management systems and units according to their operational reality to oversee these materials during their transportation, storage and handlining. Employees at all levels and roles must be made aware of their responsibilities.

During the waste handling operations, the companies must set up qualification standards and allow only qualified personnel or companies to take up these jobs.

2. The district government must further enhance their safety management capability, clarifying and implementing responsibilities. It should take various measures to effectively implement the three-year workplace safety improvement campaign.

It must launch a blanket check to check up the sub-leasing companies and the waste goods handling operations and set up a routine supervision mechanism.

All unqualified companies must be shut down or have their operation suspended. Hazards identified during the check must be assigned to a unit/person-in-charge and eliminated. The regular safety checks upon companies within the district must be intensified. Unsafe practices and hazards must be corrected or removed.

3. Local governments and authorities should leverage both traditional and new media channels to effectively educate the public on safety knowledge. This includes enhancing public awareness of accident prevention measures, legal compliance, and emergency response procedures. Furthermore, government agencies should collaborate to establish a joint-supervision system that ensures companies only undertake projects they are qualified to handle.

Companies must prioritize the enhancement of their hazard identification capabilities and staff training programs. Additionally, they should actively embrace their safety and social responsibilities.

At about 9:20 pm, November 3, 2023, an accident occurred at the warehouse of a Shanghai automation technology company at No.1 Hengding Road. While an operator was checking the glitch of a palletizer, the machine was turned on and crushed the individual to death.

Direct cause:

When the team of palletizer operators received the error message, they took actions that violated safety protocols. Even though they could not see each other, they went ahead to check and test the machinery separately. After the glitch was fixed, the machine was turned on without notifying all members of the team. This action killed the operator who was still checking the palletizer.

Indirect cause：

1. The company did not have a standard operating procedure to eliminate safety hazards. It had kept ignoring its employees’ unsafe behavior to handle the No.2 palletizer’s glitches for a long time.

2. The company did not have effective safety training programs for its operators, especially on-duty trainings for operational roles requiring professional knowledge. As a result, its operators failed to identify safety hazards and were unaware of safety regulations and standard operating procedures.

The Jiading District Emergency Management Bureau imposed an administrative penalty upon the company and the relevant person-in-charge.

The company should thoroughly learn from the accident, hold an all-staff safety training campaign to effectively enhance its safety management level, ensuring all workers have sufficient safety awareness and knowledge for their roles.

It should further evaluate its employees’ fulfillment of safety responsibilities and compliance with safety regulations. It should intensify safety patrols and implement fines for violation. The company should build a tiered scheme to manage different levels of work safety hazards as well as rigorously review its current environment to identify and eliminate hazards.

Hazard warnings

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▌来源：协作发展处（研究室）

就是对应急人最大的鼓励！

来源：上海应急守护