Pune Welder Dies After Robot Crashes On Him At Chakan ASAL Plant

Pune: According to the complaint, Umesh Ramesh Dhake, who was standing next to the assembly line, sustained critical injuries on his head and neck after a robotic unit fell on him due to a possible snag in a sensor, the complaint says.

A 44-year-old employee at the Chakan plant of Automotive Stampings and Assemblies Ltd (ASAL) in Medankarwadi, an automobile component company, died after being critically injured in an accident involving an industrial robot on Wednesday morning, said police.

Police have identified the deceased as Umesh Ramesh Dhake, a resident of Alandi. A First Information Report in the case has been filed by Dhake’s wife Priya (43). Dhake had been working with the company as a welder for the last 22 years.

According to the complaint, Dhake, who was standing next to the assembly line, sustained critical injuries on his head and neck after a robotic unit fell on him due to a possible snag in a sensor, the complaint says.

On Wednesday morning, he was working at a robotic assembly line at the company workshop. The Robot descended on Dhake while doing some welding work around 8 am on Wednesday and caused severe injury to his head. His skull was completely damaged, police said.

He was rushed to YCM hospital in Pimpri by a company ambulance, where he succumbed to his injuries, police said. An FIR was subsequently registered against five staffers of the company, including some department officials and supervisors responsible for safety measures.

The complaint by Dhake’s wife Priya alleges that adequate safety measures were not taken, and her husband was not wearing a helmet or any other safety gear at the time of the accident.

The case has been filed against the company’s occupier director, plant manager, production head Yuvraj Buchade, assistant Rahul Khairnar, and maintenance manager Ravindra Kumar of the company on charges of causing death due to alleged negligence.

According to the information given by the police, the deceased was not provided with the necessary safety equipment like a helmet, gumboots, hand gloves, etc. Also, the Robot sent by the company had problems with its sensors which led to fatal incidents.

Police have registered the case for offenses under sections 304a (causing death due to negligence) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Assistant Police Inspector Prakash Rathod of Chakan police station said a probe has been launched into the case.

A spokesperson for Automotive Stampings and Assemblies said, “At ASAL, we do lay the utmost importance on safety and mandate that each and every workmen and employee adhere to safety norms and wear appropriate PPE while working at the shop floor. This was an extremely unfortunate incident that the deceased was not wearing a helmet at the time of the accident. We are investigating the causes that led to the incident. Our full sympathies lie with the family of the deceased and we have been providing support to them.”

He said, “Prima facie probe revealed that the accident occurred due to technical fault in the sensors. The company has since suspended three officials."