Logistics: Death of a temporary dock worker following a workplace accident, on 15/11/2021 in Lieusaint (77).

A Tragic Work Accident on November 15, 2021, at Lieusaint

"Go on! Back up, back up... STOP!"

On too many logistics sites, you can still see the dock worker leaning beyond the sectional dock door to guide the truck during the reverse docking phase.

This time, the truck backed up without seeing the dock worker. The worker's head got trapped between the unloading door and the truck. He died from a cerebral hemorrhage.

The accident occurred on the logistics site of one of the world leaders in the plastics industry, IRIS OHYAMA France, a site that is both industrial (18,000 m2) and logistical (37,000 m2). The plastic boxes are made from polypropylene and dyes through injection presses associated with robots for demolding, assembling, and checking operations.

Temporary Workers Face Twice the Number of Work Accidents

The Safety Culture is often complex to develop on logistics bases. Shift handovers generally limit themselves to stating the production volumes for the day...

Seasonality, varying according to the products handled, leads logisticians to employ a significant number of temporary workers on logistics bases.

In France, 60,000 work accidents including 3,000 serious accidents involve temporary staff every year. The accident rate for temporary workers is twice as high as for all employees.

Employer's Responsibility and Hosting Company's Responsibility

Although the temp agency remains the employer, the hosting company, in its prevention policy, is responsible for integrating the temporary worker into its premises and mission.

Temporary workers must benefit from equal treatment. This also applies to safety. It is even more necessary to emphasize this point because temporary staff do not have the company's safety culture, if there is one.

Temporary workers, despite their potential experience, must be considered in terms of safety as a new hire.

According to labor law, it is the employer's responsibility to ensure the safety of employees. It is up to them to implement measures aimed at reducing occupational risks, thus avoiding risks for temporary workers.

The Role of the CSE

Companies with more than 10 employees must have a Social and Economic Committee (CSE). It replaces staff delegates (DP), the CHSCT, and the company committee (CE).

The CSE monitors the Health and Safety of employees and has the right to alert, especially in case of serious and imminent danger. It conducts work accident analyses.

From 50 employees, it participates in the analysis of occupational risks and conducts inspections in the context of Health and Safety at Work. It recommends prevention actions.

From 300 employees, the CSE is composed of several commissions including the Health, Safety, and Working Conditions commission.

It would also be interesting to include temporary staff in the analysis of occupational risks.

CHAVANON Conseil: Prevention of Occupational Risks Expert (IPRP)

If you lack the in-house skills to identify potential health impacts within your company, or you've identified a risk to your employees' health but lack the skills to find a solution in terms of continuous improvement.

Lilian CHAVANON, with his experience in management and QHSE, in Industry and Supply Chain, is registered with the DIRECCTE and a member of the IPRP Hauts de France Network of the CARSATT.

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Source: Le parisien

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