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Worker was crushed in timber yard tragedy
John Roberts A Bradford timber yard worker was crushed to death by a stacking machine which had malfunctioned several times previously, an inquest heard.
John Crossley, 52, of Laisterdyke, Bradford, was killed after becoming trapped under a machine which stacks wood onto pallets at Peter Ramsey and Sons timber yard in Wellington Street, Bradford, on February 15, 2005.
His colleagues told an inquest at Bradford Coroner's Court yesterday that the equipment had malfunctioned several times in the past but checks could find nothing wrong with it.
Mr Crossley was found trapped crouching down on the slats of wood with the stacking machine pushing down on his back.
Kevin Guy, a supervisor at the plant, told the inquest he had attempted to release the machine using its control panel, but it did not respond.
Colleagues released Mr Crossley using a fork lift truck. First aiders attempted to revive him at the scene but he was dead on arrival.
A post mortem examination revealed he had suffered asphyxia and fractured ribs.
Mr Guy said the machine should not have been able to operate while Mr Crossley was working on the stack of wood.
He said the device was controlled by a "magic eye" light beam which immediately shut the machine down if a worker walked through the light and into the area where the wood was being piled.
He said: "I don't know how it happened. I want an answer to that myself."
Mr Guy said the equipment had malfunctioned on several occasions but he had never known it malfunction while someone was in the area where the wood was being stacked.
He said: "It has done various different cycles which have been unexplained. It has malfunctioned on a couple of occasions where the arms have gone up instead of down."
The plant is an automated production line which cuts and stacks timber for delivery.
The coroner's court was told Mr Crossley had been working on the machine for five years and would enter the area where the wood was being stacked at least 40 times a day.
Mr Guy said workers had to intervene manually if the wood was not being stacked properly.
Another colleague, David Lowe said Mr Crossley had become frustrated at the way the machine was stacking the wood on the morning before his death.
The inquest continues today.
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Saturday 11 February 2012
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