Max Logan
MAX LOGAN WAS KILLED WHILE OPERATING A DE-BARKER AT A TIMBER SAWMILL PLANT NEAR MEADOWS
On the morning Max was killed, he had been operating a machine called the 'de-barker' - as he had done many times before. This day started normal enough, but it ended in tragedy for the Logan family.
The de-barker, by its very nature was a deadly piece of equipment as it pushes large timber rounds across and over various ledges. Some of these logs weigh a half a ton. The large machine was apt to jamming up with debris. To clear this, the operator was required to step on a steel ledge on to of the machine to sweep away the bark.
It was a frosty morning on November 22nd 1999. While no one saw Max slip into the de-barker's jack ladder, there were marks on the ledge to suggest he had lost his footing and fallen in.
Two years earlier a man had lost his leg at the same sawmill. The company failed to action a better plan to improve safety at the plant. Max Logan paid for this oversight with his life.
SA Sawmills were found guilty of a breach to Section 19 of the OHS&W Act 1986 and fined $33,500 plus costs in 2001. You can read the magistrate’s findings by clicking on the link below.
Max Left behind a wife, Edith...and a son, Keith.
