As an experienced safety consultant, I have investigated many incidents in my career in which a worker “falls through an opening.” The majority of these incidents have occurred at construction sites and most of the ones I investigated resulted in a serious injury or death. (more…)
We get to work with some really cool guys and from time to time, we do some really cool things; “things that make you go hmmm,” (as Arsenio Hall used to say). (more…)
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…)
When an operator is thrown from a ride-on vehicle when it tips over, such as a mud buggy, serious injury or death can result. In one such case we investigated, the issue centered on the maintenance of the vehicle, specifically whether a maladjusted hydrostatic drive caused the braking mechanism to malfunction. (more…)
A wind turbine was being erected as part of a small wind energy park. The wind turbine tower and the nacelle housing the generator were successfully installed. The three-bladed rotor assembly was installed and connected to the nacelle as the last major component of the wind turbine. (more…)
“I am not sure we have an emergency, but I just got a snakebite”. These were the words I told my wife as I returned to the house, pulled up my shorts and pointed to two holes in my right leg just a few inches above my right knee. (more…)
Recently, we had the opportunity to observe a semi-annual inspection of a commercial cooking fire suppression system. Before we get too far into this we would like to point out that we talked with one of the company’s owners as well as the technician about our presence there and the questions we would ask the technician. Neither of them had a problem with this request. (more…)
A production building was being constructed at a cement plant. A large crawler crane was being used to install the pre-assembled metal wall framing of the building. The weights and lift radii of the four wall framing sections, along with the rigging spreader and other lift equipment, were within the rated capacity of the crane. (more…)
In recent years, with Hurricane Ike in Galveston, TX in 2008 and Superstorm Sandy along the New Jersey and New York coastline in 2012, we have had the opportunity to see firsthand the destructive power of storms like these. We were “boots on the ground” literally days after the initial coastal strike. The damage observed to residential and commercial structures was far reaching, diverse and some preventable. We want to share some “lessons learned” from these observations for these two CAT events. (more…)
One of the most common features of machinery, consumer products, and assemblies of any type is the bolted joint. Sometimes the joint fails, with results ranging from inconsequential to catastrophic. The design of a joint is in the purview of an engineer, who must consider the material to be joined, the geometry of the joint, the loads imposed on the joint, the strength of the connectors (i.e., bolts, screws) environmental effects (i.e., temperatures, corrosion) and perhaps other factors. (more…)
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