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
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