According to the Public Prosecution Service (OM), the fatal accident at the end of January 2020 at VDL Wientjes in Roden is the result of unsafe working with machines. The prosecutor demanded a fine of EUR 100,000 for this company, of which EUR 20,000 was conditional. A 65-year-old former director from Meerstad should be sentenced to 120 hours of community service.
A 53-year-old operator from the municipality of Westerkwartier became trapped while converting a vacuum former. A jumper pin blocked the security system, leaving the doors open during testing. The man got stuck in the machine with his head and torso. A colleague found the man, but it was already too late. Brain injuries proved fatal to him.
The pen was a dummy used by suppliers while installing a machine. After that, the object had no function, but was not thrown away. The pins came in handy in 2018 to keep the doors of the machine open for plates that were too long, which had to be used at that time. After that, according to the leadership, it was forbidden to use those things again, the former director said.
This happened behind his back anyway, the man said. Employees stated after the accident that they used the pins during the conversion to save time. Otherwise, the machine had to be reset and was then out of service for about twenty minutes. The employees share in the profit. The higher the production, the higher the profit, they explained.
According to the Public Prosecution Service, the company had a corporate culture that made unsafe working possible for many years. There are employees who have not received safety instructions or a course to be able to work safely with the machines. The guidelines on paper were missing or incomplete. “They had to figure that out for themselves,” the prosecutor said. This was in violation of the Working Conditions Act
The Public Prosecution Service charged the former director that he, as the person ultimately responsible, allowed the use of the dummies. “You knew that the staff did not follow your ban, did not listen to you, yet you failed to inspect this,” the prosecutor said. The pens were not discarded, as they were still useful in some situations. This maintained the unsafe working environment, the Public Prosecution Service said.
According to Peter Koops, the lawyer of the Roner company, it is not only the employer’s responsibility to ensure a safe working environment, but it is also the employee’s duty to cooperate with this. Koops pleaded for acquittal. The counselor called Wientjes a neat company where everything is done to allow employees to work in a healthy and safe working environment.