Forensic Engineers and Consultants

Archive: Machinery and Equipment

HEY…Cover Up Please!

Machine guards can be compared to the clothes we wear every day.  Indeed, they serve a very important purpose.  Imagine someone leaving their home on a fine, sunny morning wearing nothing but a smile.  Wonder how far they will get through the day before things start going poorly for this individual?

 

 

 

 

 

There will be more than a few raised eyebrows and blushes when he stops into the local Starbucks for his usual morning double-dipped and whipped, chocolaty chip with a touch of pumpkin spice cappuccino fix.  Good luck with that!  Probably going to leave disappointed, empty-handed, and likely wearing handcuffs.  This will be the beginning of a very long, very bad day for that individual.  Had he recognized the risks associated with this type of behavior, and then put forth a little effort to cover up, he would have prevented many unfavorable and possibly life-changing personal and legal problems from ever occurring!

And so it is with properly guarding a machine.  Machine safeguarding helps to protect workers from preventable injuries. Read More

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WARREN Welcomes Mechanical Engineer Bob Hickman, P.E.

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Please join us in welcoming Mechanical Engineer Bob Hickman, P.E., to the WARREN family! Bob has over 30 years of manufacturing and machine design experience in production and quality-driven environments. Bob holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Clemson University.

Bob’s Areas of Expertise Include:
-Machine Safeguarding
-Machine Design
-Equipment Failure
-Mechanical Engineering
-Industrial Accident Investigation
-Codes & Standards
-Machinery & Equipment Damage Assessment
-Products Liability Read More

The Concepts of Hazard, Risk, and Harm in Machine Safeguarding

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Hazard, risk, and harm are terms that are used in the world of machine safeguarding.   How do these words shape the concept of machine safeguarding? Let’s look a little deeper….

Hazard, which Merriam-Webster defines as a noun, lists its first meaning as a source of danger.

1: a source of danger

2a: the effect of unpredictable and unanalyzable forces in determining events : CHANCE, RISK

  b:  a chance event : ACCIDENT  Read More

Conveyor Backstops: Sometimes One Isn’t Enough, Part 2

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This is the second in a two-part blog series about conveying equipment that severely injured a worker at a mine. In case you missed it, click here to read Part 1 where I describe the incident and the mining equipment. In this part, I will discuss my engineering analysis of the incident and the machinery involved and share the conclusions I reached.

The injured miner was a front-end loader operator. He was not a maintenance worker. He simply responded to a radio request for help with the conveyor. Power to the electric conveyor motors was locked out, but none of the maintenance workers did anything to lock out or block the hazardous gravitational potential energy in the heavy load of stone on the belt. Read More

Conveyor Backstops: Sometimes One Isn’t Enough, Part 1

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This is the first of a two-part blog series describing an incident involving conveying machinery that seriously injured a miner. Part 1 describes the machinery and the incident. In Part 2 I will summarize my engineering analysis of the incident and share the conclusions I reached.

A loaded, inclined conveyor belt may contain hazardous levels of energy due to gravity. To protect workers, anti-reverse devices called backstops are installed on inclined conveyors to prevent unexpected downhill movement. The Conveyor Equipment Manufacturer’s Association (CEMA) defines a backstop as: Read More

The CE Mark and What Should It Mean to You? Part One

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Two little letters, CE.  Perhaps you have seen those two letters on a machine nameplate or some other equipment.  What is the meaning behind those two stylized letters and how does it drive the design of safer machinery?  Let’s take a closer look. Read More

Waste Gas Treatment Equipment Failure: Design & Installation Defects Cause Fire

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The thirty-thousand-foot view of manufacturing is raw material in, alter in an appropriate fashion, finished product out, by-product out.  Since the finished product keeps a business in business, it gets the most attention.  What about by-products or waste streams?  Read More

Case Study: Fatality Servicing Unsupported Excavator Boom

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A mini-excavator at a job site developed a leak at a hydraulic fitting at the base of the cylinder that raises and lowers the boom. A subcontractor foreman at the site raised the boom to search for the leak. The foreman found and attempted to tighten the leaking fitting. When he did, the fitting separated from the base of the cylinder, releasing the hydraulic pressure that held the boom aloft. The boom fell and the bucket struck a nearby superintendent for the general contractor.

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Testing As Part of Gas Appliance Incident Investigation

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Equipment and appliances supplied with fuel gases like natural gas, propane and butane are a common and convenient part of most of our lives.  Such devices as gas grills and ranges, ovens, furnaces, space heaters and water heaters usually perform without incident.  However, when they malfunction the potential for incidents such as fires and explosions, carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning and burn injuries may occur. These incidents may be due to design and manufacturing defects in the product, or improper installation or operation of the device.

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Graphitic Corrosion – Difficult to determine before a failure!

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Graphitic corrosion is a process that may happen in equipment made of iron, particularly grey cast iron, but also ductile cast iron. Graphitic corrosion can lead to unexpected catastrophic failure of the affected part because the cast iron can lose its strength without a visible warning such as a change in size, shape, or appearance. Read More

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