design safety analysis | Warren Forensics

Tag Archive: design safety analysis

Desk Reviews Answer Subrogation Questions
February 24, 2015 9:51 am Leave a Comment
An important question concerning a workers’ compensation claim involving machinery and equipment is whether or not the loss can be subrogated to a responsible third party. In order to properly analyze this question, it is often helpful to have an engineer determine if the machine contains a condition of defect that caused the incident. One effective way to move ahead with confidence — and without investing travel time and money into a full investigation — is a Warren desk review. (more…)
Harmless Appearing, Smooth Rotating Mixer Shaft Causes Serious Finger Amputation Injuries
September 11, 2014 10:43 am Leave a Comment
I recently finished working on a case where an operator received a right hand injury when an unguarded, rotating mixer shaft caught his gloved hand between the right index finger and middle finger, twisting it around the shaft causing the index finger to separate from the hand and the middle and ring finger to be dislocated. The mixer contained an unguarded rotating shaft, which created an uncontrolled motion hazard when rotating at speeds up to 450 RPM. (more…)
Uncontrolled Hazards and Risk Assessments — Part Two
March 10, 2014 10:20 am Leave a Comment
In Part One, I shared a case of a machinist blinded while using a computer numerically controlled (CNC) machining center. The equipment, which was safeguarded, contained a known hazard, but the machine manufacturer included an interlock guard to help protect the operator during the machine’s intended use. (more…)
Uncontrolled Hazards and Risk Assessments — Part One
March 3, 2014 8:27 am Leave a Comment
Machine equipment manufacturers are called upon to study potential risks of equipment before selling it in the marketplace. In addition, ANSI machine tool standards further address equipment hazards and risks that cannot be eliminated by design. In one case I investigated, the depth of that critical risk assessment became an important factor in a claim involving a machinist blinded while using a computer numerically controlled (CNC) machining center. (more…)
Hand and Finger Injuries from a Defective Snow Blower
January 8, 2014 4:56 pm Leave a Comment
Nearly everyone who lives in a snowy climate would agree that a gas powered snow blower beats a person powered snow shovel for clearing the sidewalk or driveway. Shoveling heavy, wet snow causes injuries from back problems to heart attacks. No wonder that gas powered snow blowers of all sizes are a popular item this time of year. The larger ones may be ride-on types; smaller ones are typically walk-behind. In either case there is an auger to gather the snow as the device moves forward and a bladed fan (or “blower”) to discharge it out of a chute to one side or the other. (more…)
Preventing Fugitive Vapor Explosion with Design
December 16, 2013 8:01 am Leave a Comment
For years, many water heater-related fires, injuries, property damage claims, and deaths were attributed to “consumer misbehavior.” By 2002, however, the NFPA National Fuel Gas Code began to reflect several key realizations: the existence of fugitive vapors and how appliance design can limit the risks they pose. (more…)
Code Violations Are Root of Fatal Explosion
September 16, 2013 8:32 am Leave a Comment
The design and installation of gas piping systems in homes and commercial buildings is guided by a set of regulations called NFPA 54 — the National Fuel Gas Code. The code, which establishes minimum safety requirements, is also used by forensic engineers to evaluate an explosion to determine cause and responsibility. (more…)
Design Can Prevent Industrial Accidents
July 22, 2013 9:36 am Leave a Comment
Two of the top causes of workplace accidents, according to the United States Department of Labor’s Occupation Safety and Health Administration, are a lack of machine guarding and improper control of hazardous energy. At first blush, these types of incidents can mistakenly be attributed to an employee’s actions without considering how a machine’s design or the improper control of an environment or situation may have contributed.
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Protecting Industrial Employees from Workplace Hazards
June 11, 2013 8:12 am Leave a Comment
The recent Texas fertilizer plant explosion has focused the nation’s eyes on the important matter of workplace safety. When an employee is injured or killed on the job, Warren investigators are often called in to identify what went wrong and how it could have been prevented.
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Fire Investigation Points to Design Failure.
March 20, 2013 12:37 pm Leave a Comment
Defects that cause problems in machines are categorized into two different concepts. Manufacturing defect is a term that applies to a situation where the defect was unintended. For example, a part was installed that did not meet the designer’s specifications or quality. A design defect is another matter. Design defect is a term that applies to a situation where the defect resulted from a purposeful decision or by failing to investigate or heed available design criteria on the part of a designer or builder. (more…)

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