Posted on 01/30/2014 2:01:02 PM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
I agree. Chipper = DOA.
Debarker set for large log = survive.
Goodness, what a horrible thing to endure! I often had nightmares as a child about being caught/pulled into various machines, and none could possibly be as terrifying as what this guy went through.
And I agree with many others - this company better take a long hard look at its lockout - tag out procedures.
About a decade ago, at The Anaheim Theme Park, at an overworked and understaffed attraction, The Columbia Sailing ship, had a red tag removed from a cleat that was loose, on the dock, due to rotted wood. A few hours later, in conjunction with a procedural error, in docking, the cleat (similar to an anvil) sprung loose, and fatally split a guest’s head open, in front of his family, and numerous other people. It only cost them about $25M to settle :(
Reminds me of the lens grinder who fell into his machine and made a specticle of himself.
I'm even worse - I complain when you go to the dentist, too!
It makes me wonder when i hear of things like this. A man crawls into the thing with no lock out on the starter or switch.
I know the feeling.
I worked in a shipyard building navy destroyers.
I was working on the aft gun auto loader.
I was working in the tube from the ammo loading compartment to the gun. Put a shell on the tray, push the button, and it’s loaded into the gun in a few seconds.
The welder/fitter was guarding the button to make sure no one pushed it sending the loading tray up.
Some clown came in the compartment grabbed the control buttons and started acting like he was going to push the button.
The welder/fitter went nuts and started fighting with the guy.
Had he pushed that button I would have been loaded into that gun just like a shell.
After that we made them shut down that entire section of the ship and made the safety crew place a guard outside the door to make sure no one else came in while we were working.
You ought to be around a tub grinder. Them things are always spitting crap out of them. About 300 feet away is about the only safe place..if not beyond.
Absolutely. Bears repeating: ABSOLUTELY.
Official Washington Redskin mascot.
I know that safety process well........
Back in the '90's, my plant experienced an awful death when an electrician climbed a ladder at the back of our press shop to work on a control box without locking out the overhead crane.
The press operator on the line attempting to move a pallet of steel didn't see the electrician on the wall and drove the crane into him, crushing and killing him........
I had a girlfriend who got her hair caught in a lathe. It nearly ripped her head off. She had her hair tied up, but it came lose.
She didn’t have an “Ohnosecond”, she had a “Ohnonanosecond”.
She said what happened after her hair got caught happened so fast it was beyond belief.
While I was studying up on tractor safety, I ran across material on wood chippers.
The death certificate from a wood chipper incident typically lists cause of death as "total body morselization".
I know when I work on things like that, and its mostly around mobile units, I pull the wire for the injection pump. That and the key. Then lock the clutch handle so they cant throw the thing in gear.
When I worked in sawmills, I would have the electrician pull the fuses, if there were any, and, or have him lock the panel with my lock on with his and stand there.
Lockout/Tagout is your friend.
BTTT
Can’t be said enough.
BTTT
Even with proper lock out-tag out, I would still refuse to climb into a wood chipper. I just couldn’t do it.
You gotta change the knives. And that means you gotta get into it.
Failure to do that, or remove a tag that wasn’t yours, was a firing offense where I used to work. I wonder if their insurance covers stupidity?
The employer is stuck with the financial cost (medical, loss of income) of the injury which will be paid by the workers compensation insurance company and in the following three years will pay an experience modification increase in wc premium for the cost of loss > medical, loss of income > probably about $300k or more.
I disagree. A machine such as an industrial wood chipper likely would have a means to padlock the power switch as well as being red-tagged. If the injured worker did not take these steps before climbing inside, he’s not very bright. With those protections taken, the only reason why another person would be guarding the switch is that it’s a union shop and they’re featherbedding.
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