Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Wood Chipper Results in Fatal Injuries
Mechanical and Safety Engineering (MASE) Product Failure Injury Report
Product involved: Wood Chipper
What happened: A teenager was pulled into a wood chipper
Injuries: Fatal crushing injuries
Recommendations: Wood chippers are extremely dangerous, and repeatedly pull people into the high speed chipping drum, with devastating results. As logs are pulled into the chipper, branches quickly move, which can result in entrapment of the operator's arm, or the operator being pulled into the chipper from a branch behind the operator. Wood chippers are being equipped with shut-off mechanisms or reversing systems that can prevent this type of accident from occurring. Manufacturers continue to produce dangerous chippers without adequate safeguards.
OSHA/Standard violations?: No
Visit www.mase.pro for more information on unsafe products, and http://mase.pro/2009FC21.htm for information on wood chipper accidents and safeguards that can prevent exposure to the point of operation.
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Ottoman Collapse Results in Injury
Mechanical and Safety Engineering (MASE) Product Failure Injury Report
Product involved: Chair
What happened: A man was injured when a stool collapsed
Injuries: Back and head
Recommendations: Many chair accidents are due to connection failures of some sort, whether screws that pull from a chipboard attachment, or weld breakage, or other mechanical failure. This accident occurred when the base of an ottoman type seat collapsed. The unavailability of the subject stool made inspection impossible to determine if it was a connection failure, material failure, design defect, or product misuse that led to the failure.
OSHA/Standard violations?: No
Visit www.mase.pro for more information on unsafe products, and http://mase.pro/2013FC53.htm for information on chair accidents and requirements.
Product involved: Chair
What happened: A man was injured when a stool collapsed
Injuries: Back and head
Recommendations: Many chair accidents are due to connection failures of some sort, whether screws that pull from a chipboard attachment, or weld breakage, or other mechanical failure. This accident occurred when the base of an ottoman type seat collapsed. The unavailability of the subject stool made inspection impossible to determine if it was a connection failure, material failure, design defect, or product misuse that led to the failure.
OSHA/Standard violations?: No
Visit www.mase.pro for more information on unsafe products, and http://mase.pro/2013FC53.htm for information on chair accidents and requirements.
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Rubber Press Accident
Mechanical and Safety Engineering (MASE) Product Failure Injury Report
Product involved: Rubber press
What happened: A man was injured when he became entrapped and pulled into the nip point of a rubber press while feeding material into the press
Injuries: Arm
Recommendations: Protecting workers from in-running nip points such as where two rollers meet is important. At no time should a person be able to access the nip point of a press while it is operating. Standard methods for safeguarding these types of machine hazards includes interlocked guards, light curtains, pressure mats, barrier guards, guarding by distance, body bars and other methods.
OSHA/Standard violations?: Yes
Visit www.mase.pro for more information on unsafe products, and http://mase.pro/2012FC51.htm for information on guarding nip points.
Product involved: Rubber press
What happened: A man was injured when he became entrapped and pulled into the nip point of a rubber press while feeding material into the press
Injuries: Arm
Recommendations: Protecting workers from in-running nip points such as where two rollers meet is important. At no time should a person be able to access the nip point of a press while it is operating. Standard methods for safeguarding these types of machine hazards includes interlocked guards, light curtains, pressure mats, barrier guards, guarding by distance, body bars and other methods.
OSHA/Standard violations?: Yes
Visit www.mase.pro for more information on unsafe products, and http://mase.pro/2012FC51.htm for information on guarding nip points.
Monday, April 15, 2013
Tree Stand Accident
Mechanical and Safety Engineering (MASE) Product Failure Injury Report
Product involved: Tree Stand
What happened: A man was injured when the tree stand he was using collapsed causing him to fall to the ground
Injuries: Back and arm injuries
Recommendations: The cantilevered design of most tree stands makes them susceptible to collapse if the tree-side of the stand becomes unsupported. Strap failure, loose straps, and incorrectly installed straps can all result in this type of failure of a tree stand. Using straps that can withstand environmental conditions will prevent tree stand failure due to strap failure. Another option to these types of accidents is to eliminate the hazard of the cantilevered design. Designs exist on the market that are fully self-supporting, eliminating the need for a tree, as well as eliminating the hazard of failure due to an unsupported/partially supported tree stand.
OSHA/Standard violations?: No
Visit www.mase.pro for more information on unsafe products, and http://mase.pro/2012FC46.htm for more information of tree stand failures.
Product involved: Tree Stand
What happened: A man was injured when the tree stand he was using collapsed causing him to fall to the ground
Injuries: Back and arm injuries
Recommendations: The cantilevered design of most tree stands makes them susceptible to collapse if the tree-side of the stand becomes unsupported. Strap failure, loose straps, and incorrectly installed straps can all result in this type of failure of a tree stand. Using straps that can withstand environmental conditions will prevent tree stand failure due to strap failure. Another option to these types of accidents is to eliminate the hazard of the cantilevered design. Designs exist on the market that are fully self-supporting, eliminating the need for a tree, as well as eliminating the hazard of failure due to an unsupported/partially supported tree stand.
OSHA/Standard violations?: No
Visit www.mase.pro for more information on unsafe products, and http://mase.pro/2012FC46.htm for more information of tree stand failures.
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Hydraulic Press Accident
Mechanical and Safety Engineering (MASE) Product Failure Injury Report
Product involved: Hydraulic Press
What happened: A man was injured while feeding parts into a hydraulic brake press when his coworker accidentally cycled the machine
Injuries: Crushing injuries to hand
Recommendations: A typical one-person operation was being performed by two people in an attempt to speed up production. This is a foreseeable scenario that machine designers and facilities need to mitigate. The two-handed control station did not offer the worker protection since his coworker was manning the controls. There are various solutions to this type of machine guarding scenario. For this machine the operator places material into the press, and then cycles the press. A simple light curtain could have detected the presence of the worker and prevented the press from cycling when the coworker engaged it. Alternatively, guarding by distance could have prevented this accident, as could have barrier guards with openings to allow the work product to pass.
OSHA/Standard violations?: Yes
Visit www.mase.pro for more information on unsafe products
Product involved: Hydraulic Press
What happened: A man was injured while feeding parts into a hydraulic brake press when his coworker accidentally cycled the machine
Injuries: Crushing injuries to hand
Recommendations: A typical one-person operation was being performed by two people in an attempt to speed up production. This is a foreseeable scenario that machine designers and facilities need to mitigate. The two-handed control station did not offer the worker protection since his coworker was manning the controls. There are various solutions to this type of machine guarding scenario. For this machine the operator places material into the press, and then cycles the press. A simple light curtain could have detected the presence of the worker and prevented the press from cycling when the coworker engaged it. Alternatively, guarding by distance could have prevented this accident, as could have barrier guards with openings to allow the work product to pass.
OSHA/Standard violations?: Yes
Visit www.mase.pro for more information on unsafe products
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Golf Cart Overturn
Mechanical and Safety Engineering (MASE) Product Failure Injury Report
Product involved: Golf cart
What happened: A man was injured when the golf cart he was driving rolled as he attempted to negotiate a turn. He was thrown from the cart and injured when he impacted the ground and when the cart landed on top of him
Injuries: Broken leg, head injuries
Recommendations: Golf carts are capable of traveling at speeds that can result in injury to people. Tipping of golf carts, and vehicles, is a foreseeable event whether due to uneven terrain, terrain defects, wet conditions, etc. Protecting the operator is imperative in these accidents. Operator and passenger protection can be afforded using seatbelts and doors to contain the occupants.
OSHA/Standard violations?: No
Visit www.mase.pro for more information on unsafe products
Product involved: Golf cart
What happened: A man was injured when the golf cart he was driving rolled as he attempted to negotiate a turn. He was thrown from the cart and injured when he impacted the ground and when the cart landed on top of him
Injuries: Broken leg, head injuries
Recommendations: Golf carts are capable of traveling at speeds that can result in injury to people. Tipping of golf carts, and vehicles, is a foreseeable event whether due to uneven terrain, terrain defects, wet conditions, etc. Protecting the operator is imperative in these accidents. Operator and passenger protection can be afforded using seatbelts and doors to contain the occupants.
OSHA/Standard violations?: No
Visit www.mase.pro for more information on unsafe products
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Automatically Closing Handicap Access Door
Mechanical and Safety Engineering (MASE) Product Failure Injury Report
Product involved: Handicap access door
What happened: An elderly woman was injured when an automatic handicap access door closed on her, causing injury to her wrist as well as causing her to fall to the ground
Injuries: Wrist, broken hip
Recommendations: Automatically closing handicap access doors need to be equipped with sensors that stop and/or reverse the motion of the door when an obstacle is encountered. The Americans with Disabilities Act has certain requirements that must be met. Other standards may also apply, and engineering design protocol requires a safeguard for this clearly identified hazard. Minimizing power to the door to perform its function properly would help minimize the severity of injuries resulting from contact with a closing door. Touch sensors, motion sensors, pressure sensitive mats, and light beam sensors could all be used to determine if a person was in the path of the closing door(s).
OSHA/Standard violations?: No
Visit www.mase.pro for more information on unsafe products
Product involved: Handicap access door
What happened: An elderly woman was injured when an automatic handicap access door closed on her, causing injury to her wrist as well as causing her to fall to the ground
Injuries: Wrist, broken hip
Recommendations: Automatically closing handicap access doors need to be equipped with sensors that stop and/or reverse the motion of the door when an obstacle is encountered. The Americans with Disabilities Act has certain requirements that must be met. Other standards may also apply, and engineering design protocol requires a safeguard for this clearly identified hazard. Minimizing power to the door to perform its function properly would help minimize the severity of injuries resulting from contact with a closing door. Touch sensors, motion sensors, pressure sensitive mats, and light beam sensors could all be used to determine if a person was in the path of the closing door(s).
OSHA/Standard violations?: No
Visit www.mase.pro for more information on unsafe products
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Ottoman Failure Resulting in Injuries
Mechanical and Safety Engineering (MASE) Product Failure Injury Report
Product involved: Ottoman
What happened: A woman sitting on an ottoman fell and received injuries when the ottoman she was seated on collapsed due to a catastrophic failure of the connection of one of the legs.
Injuries: Unknown
Recommendations: It is unknown at this time whether the failure was due to a design defect or a manufacturing/material defect. Engineering calculations or finite element analysis (FEA) should have been used to ensure that the ottoman is adequately designed by the manufacturer. Using engineering design principles as well as industry standards, with an adequate factor of safety to accommodate dynamic loading that occurs when a person drops down into the seat/ottoman; the ottoman could have been designed to safely support its occupants. Adequate quality control procedures would likely have caught any material or manufacturing defect.
OSHA/Standard violations?: No
Visit www.mase.pro for more information on unsafe products
Product involved: Ottoman
What happened: A woman sitting on an ottoman fell and received injuries when the ottoman she was seated on collapsed due to a catastrophic failure of the connection of one of the legs.
Injuries: Unknown
Recommendations: It is unknown at this time whether the failure was due to a design defect or a manufacturing/material defect. Engineering calculations or finite element analysis (FEA) should have been used to ensure that the ottoman is adequately designed by the manufacturer. Using engineering design principles as well as industry standards, with an adequate factor of safety to accommodate dynamic loading that occurs when a person drops down into the seat/ottoman; the ottoman could have been designed to safely support its occupants. Adequate quality control procedures would likely have caught any material or manufacturing defect.
OSHA/Standard violations?: No
Visit www.mase.pro for more information on unsafe products
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Shuttle Bus Luggage Rack Accident
Mechanical and Safety Engineering (MASE) Product Failure Injury Report
Product involved: Shuttle bus luggage rack
What happened: A person riding an airport shuttle bus received head injuries when a large suitcase tipped out of the luggage rack and fell onto his head.
Injuries: Minor head injuries
Recommendations: Ensuring that luggage is properly secured is important to prevent accidents from moving luggage, especially when contact with a person is possible or probable. A properly designed luggage rack would utilize full coverage guarding in directions that would likely result in contact with occupants, or a door or gate access. Another alternative is placing support bars high enough to prevent luggage from tipping over the bar during hard braking or acceleration.
OSHA/Standard violations?: No
Visit www.mase.pro for more information on unsafe products
Product involved: Shuttle bus luggage rack
What happened: A person riding an airport shuttle bus received head injuries when a large suitcase tipped out of the luggage rack and fell onto his head.
Injuries: Minor head injuries
Recommendations: Ensuring that luggage is properly secured is important to prevent accidents from moving luggage, especially when contact with a person is possible or probable. A properly designed luggage rack would utilize full coverage guarding in directions that would likely result in contact with occupants, or a door or gate access. Another alternative is placing support bars high enough to prevent luggage from tipping over the bar during hard braking or acceleration.
OSHA/Standard violations?: No
Visit www.mase.pro for more information on unsafe products
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Paintball Eye Injury
Mechanical and Safety Engineering (MASE) Product Failure Injury Report
Product involved: Paintball marker
What happened: A child spectating a paintball game was hit in the eye.
Injuries: Partial blindness
Recommendations: Paintball games require proper eye protection to ensure participant safety. Referees are also required to enforce safety rules and to stop game play if a hazardous situation occurs. This particular injury was to a non-participant. Spectator viewing areas must be properly safeguarded so onlookers are protected from the paintballs. Doors and passageways are a common weakness at paintball fields. Overlapped netting can protect onlookers and ensure paintballs do not leave the playing field.
OSHA/Standard violations?: No
Visit www.mase.pro for more information on unsafe products
Product involved: Paintball marker
What happened: A child spectating a paintball game was hit in the eye.
Injuries: Partial blindness
Recommendations: Paintball games require proper eye protection to ensure participant safety. Referees are also required to enforce safety rules and to stop game play if a hazardous situation occurs. This particular injury was to a non-participant. Spectator viewing areas must be properly safeguarded so onlookers are protected from the paintballs. Doors and passageways are a common weakness at paintball fields. Overlapped netting can protect onlookers and ensure paintballs do not leave the playing field.
OSHA/Standard violations?: No
Visit www.mase.pro for more information on unsafe products
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Tricam Fiberglass Ladder Spreader Bar Failure
Mechanical and Safety Engineering (MASE) Product Failure Injury Report
Product involved: Tricam Fiberglass Ladder
What happened: A person was injured when a spreader bar of his Tricam ladder failed, causing the ladder to collapse
Injuries: Unknown
Recommendations: Stepladder spreader bar failure is not as common as other ladder accident failure modes. Without spreader bars, a stepladder is highly unstable and likely to collapse or tip. Normally spreader bar failures are due to a manufacturing or material defect, but can also be due to a design problem as well. A rigid plate spreader would have prevented the extreme instability resulting from the failure of one spreader bar connection.
OSHA/Standard violations?: No
Visit www.mase.pro for more information on unsafe products
Product involved: Tricam Fiberglass Ladder
What happened: A person was injured when a spreader bar of his Tricam ladder failed, causing the ladder to collapse
Injuries: Unknown
Recommendations: Stepladder spreader bar failure is not as common as other ladder accident failure modes. Without spreader bars, a stepladder is highly unstable and likely to collapse or tip. Normally spreader bar failures are due to a manufacturing or material defect, but can also be due to a design problem as well. A rigid plate spreader would have prevented the extreme instability resulting from the failure of one spreader bar connection.
OSHA/Standard violations?: No
Visit www.mase.pro for more information on unsafe products
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Concrete Form Pin Connection Failure
Mechanical and Safety Engineering (MASE) Product Failure Injury Report
Product involved: Concrete Forms/Pin Connection
What happened: A worker was injured while attempting to disassemble steel forms for concrete. A pin that supported the forms failed resulting in the form dropping onto the worker’s head.
Injuries: Head injuries
Recommendations: Positioning of connections can be important for these types of structures. It is important for the connections to be accessed safely, without getting underneath the forms in a crush zone. Positioning connections so that the forms can be broken from the side would prevent these types of accidents
OSHA/Standard violations?: unknown
Visit www.mase.pro for more information on unsafe products
Product involved: Concrete Forms/Pin Connection
What happened: A worker was injured while attempting to disassemble steel forms for concrete. A pin that supported the forms failed resulting in the form dropping onto the worker’s head.
Injuries: Head injuries
Recommendations: Positioning of connections can be important for these types of structures. It is important for the connections to be accessed safely, without getting underneath the forms in a crush zone. Positioning connections so that the forms can be broken from the side would prevent these types of accidents
OSHA/Standard violations?: unknown
Visit www.mase.pro for more information on unsafe products
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Hydraulic Fitting Failure Causes Dump Truck Bed to Fall
Mechanical and Safety Engineering (MASE) Product Failure Injury Report
Product involved: Dump Truck
What happened: A maintenance worker was killed when the raised bed of a dump truck fell onto him due to the failure of a hydraulic fitting which allowed the hydraulic pressure to drop rapidly
Injuries: Death
Recommendations: A check valve on the hydraulic system would have prevented loss of pressure due to the fitting failure. Also additional means of supporting the weight of the truck bed would have prevented the bed from falling when the hydraulic fitting failed.
OSHA/Standard violations?: unknown
Visit www.mase.pro for more information on unsafe products
Product involved: Dump Truck
What happened: A maintenance worker was killed when the raised bed of a dump truck fell onto him due to the failure of a hydraulic fitting which allowed the hydraulic pressure to drop rapidly
Injuries: Death
Recommendations: A check valve on the hydraulic system would have prevented loss of pressure due to the fitting failure. Also additional means of supporting the weight of the truck bed would have prevented the bed from falling when the hydraulic fitting failed.
OSHA/Standard violations?: unknown
Visit www.mase.pro for more information on unsafe products
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Wood Chipper Accident
Mechanical and Safety Engineering (MASE) Product Failure Injury Report
Product involved: Wood Chipper
What happened: A worker became pulled into a wood chipper when the bundle of branches he was feeding into the chipper trapped his hand
Injuries: Amputation
Recommendations: Wood chippers are extremely powerful machines that have an entanglement hazard between the powered rollers that pull material into the chipper. These machines should be guarded with as much care and attention to detail as large printing presses. The operator should never be able to reach the point of operation of the chipper. Equipping the chipper with an effective body bar that stopped the machine would have prevented this accident, as would have a deadman platform that the operator would work from that would stop the chipper when it sensed the lack of a person.
OSHA/Standard violations?: no
Visit www.mase.pro for more information on unsafe products
Product involved: Wood Chipper
What happened: A worker became pulled into a wood chipper when the bundle of branches he was feeding into the chipper trapped his hand
Injuries: Amputation
Recommendations: Wood chippers are extremely powerful machines that have an entanglement hazard between the powered rollers that pull material into the chipper. These machines should be guarded with as much care and attention to detail as large printing presses. The operator should never be able to reach the point of operation of the chipper. Equipping the chipper with an effective body bar that stopped the machine would have prevented this accident, as would have a deadman platform that the operator would work from that would stop the chipper when it sensed the lack of a person.
OSHA/Standard violations?: no
Visit www.mase.pro for more information on unsafe products
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Crushing of Forklift Operator
Mechanical and Safety Engineering (MASE) Product Failure Injury Report
Product involved: Forklift
What happened: A forklift operator became crushed between the mast and parts of the forklift structure when he reached through the mast to clear an obstruction and accidentally lowered the lift onto himself
Injuries: Death due to crushing injuries of head
Recommendations: Simple guarding of the operator compartment would have prevented the operator from being able to place himself in the path of the descending lift.
OSHA/Standard violations?: no
Visit www.mase.pro for more information on unsafe products
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Hand Held Mixer Accident
MASE Product Failure Injury Report
Product involved: Hand Held Mixer
What happened: A woman's finger became caught in a hand held electric blender while she was holding the edge of the bowl.
Injuries: Tendon damage to finger
Recommendations: Hand held mixers are relatively low power, but can still maim and injure fingers. Since hand held mixers have an unguarded nip point, distance from the hazard is essential. Deep, heavy bowls that do not require hand stabilization will help deter users from getting near the hazard. Counter top stand mixers do not require stabilization, and use deep bowls to increase the distance to the hazard.
OSHA/Standard violations?: no
Visit www.mase.pro for more information on unsafe products
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Mountain Bike Tire Failure
MASE Product Failure Injury Report
Product involved: MTB Mountain Bike Tire
What happened: Person was mountain biking on a trail, crossed part of the path where a previous small bridge had been removed. A couple of miles later, the bike slid out to the right from underneath the rider in a hard left curve, at a relatively low speed. Inspection after the accident showed a nail in one of the tires, presumably from the bridge site. The loss of air pressure caused the accident.
Injuries: Lacerations, bruises
Recommendations: Even if tires are at the proper pressure at the beginning of the ride, there is no guarantee that this will be maintained. Punctures during a ride may result in a slow, unnoticeable loss of pressure. There are inner tubes for bikes that will automatically seal any puncture. There are also tubeless wheels that use thicker tires, which are reportedly more puncture resistant.
OSHA/Standard violations?: no
Visit www.mase.pro for more information on unsafe products
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