SAFETY INCIDENT MAY 14 2015

What Happened?

 A technician was performing various 6” pipe cuts on vertical piping using a low clearance split frame machine. The pipe cut was complete and the technician placed his left hand on the trip pin lever. He positioned his palm on the lever so he could toggle the lever with his middle finger on top of the trip lever. As the cutting tool block came around the machine the block pinched his left middle finger between the block and the trip assembly. The technician was NOT wearing gloves while the equipment was being operated.

The Injured Party was attended to by First Aid personnel, then he was transported to an off-site medical facility where it was determined he had a fractured finger and laceration that required sutures to close the wound. He was able to return to work the same day.

NOTE: In the pictures below gloves were worn since the machine was deenergized and power source was disconnected.

Improper hand placement when operating trip lever.

Preliminary investigation

 ·         Technician improperly operated the trip lever.

·         Technician placed his hand in the line of fire.
·         Job Requirements had not been properly communicated.
·         Standard Operating Procedure was not provided to the technician.

 Preventive and corrective actions

·         Review proper operation and hand placement when operating rotating equipment

·         Review manufactures pinch point hazards identified by manufactures User’s Manual and Standard Operating Procedures for all jobs.

 

 

Immediate actions

1. Conduct a Stand down with all employees to discuss incident findings and preventive actions.

2. Share this Safety Alert with all employees in your respective areas.

 

Important Safety Notice

Red Wing Shoes Recalls 42 Styles of Steel Toe Safety Footwear

An issue in the steel toe cap could fail to protect the wearer’s feet in an impact.

The footwear was sold between December 2012 and November 2013. There are 42 styles of Red Wing branded products that are covered under this notice. However, only certain sizes within each style are affected. Only those styles, sizes and widths with a manufacture date code between December 2012 and November 2013 are affected. See list of affected styles and sizes below.

The affected style number, size, width and manufacture date can be found on the product label on the inside of the boot.

 

www.redwingshoes.com/safetynotice

Fatigue Awareness

What is Fatigue?

ÜFatigue describes a physical and/or mental state of being tired and weak.

ÜAlthough physical and mental fatigue are different, the two often occur together - if a person is physically exhausted for long enough, they will also be mentally tired.

ÜWhen somebody experiences physical fatigue, it means they cannot continue functioning at their normal levels of physical ability.

ÜMental fatigue, however, is more slanted towards feeling sleepy and being unable to concentrate properly.

ÜFatigue may have several possible causes.

ÜExperts say that 10% of people globally at any one time are suffering from persistent tiredness. Persistent tiredness affects females more than males.

 What Causes Fatigue?

ÜFatigue describes a physical and/or mental state of being tired and weak.

ÜAlthough physical and mental fatigue are different, the two often occur together - if a person is physically exhausted for long enough, they will also be mentally tired.

ÜWhen somebody experiences physical fatigue, it means they cannot continue functioning at their normal levels of physical ability.

ÜMental fatigue, however, is more slanted towards feeling sleepy and being unable to concentrate properly.

ÜFatigue may have several possible causes.

ÜExperts say that 10% of people globally at any one time are suffering from persistent tiredness. Persistent tiredness affects females more than males.

How do you combat Fatigue?

ÜMany people experience fatigue due to lack of quality sleep.  Quality/uninterrupted sleep is essential to combating fatigue.  Some helpful tips on how to get quality sleep include:

·Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time each day

·Set your bedroom's temperature at a comfortable level. It must neither be too cold nor too hot

·Do not have your last meal of the day too close to your bedtime - not less than 90 minutes or two hours before you go to bed

·As bedtime approaches, physically and mentally slow down.

ÜA healthy lifestyle has a significant impact on fatigue

·Proper diet and regular exercise can boost energy levels and improve mental sharpness

 

Recognizing Fatigue

 

ÜSince fatigue is so commonplace in todays work environment, it may be difficult to recognize in yourself and your co-workers.  Some of the symptoms of fatigue include:

·Lethargy – Low energy level and non-productive.

·Visibly tired – Eyes are droopy, slow to respond or act, not following directions accurately.

·Prone to mistakes – Mistakes are made often and even simple tasks are not completed correctly

 

Employee Responsibilities Regarding Fatigue

 

vEmployees are responsible for:

• 

ÜRemaining drug and alcohol free during their employment with Furmanite.

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ÜNot using over-the-counter or prescription drugs to increase mental alertness.

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ÜEmployees are prohibited from taking any substance known to increase fatigue, including fatigue that sets in after the effects of the drug wear off.

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ÜEmployees must report fatigue/tiredness and lack of mental acuity to supervision.

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ÜEmployees/contractors should use their time off the job to get the appropriate sleep or rest and maintain their alertness and fitness for duty.

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ÜEmployees should to monitor their own performance and take regular periods of rest to avoid continuing work when tired.

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ÜMonitor co-workers state of alertness.

 

 

 

 

Safety Alert

What happened?
Technician was working on unbolting the housing of a hot tap machine using the open end of a combination wrench, (due to the location of the bolt, technician stated he was unable to use the box end of the wrench), when the wrench slipped off of the bolt striking the technician in the upper lip causing a laceration. The technician was transported to an occupational medicine facility and he received two sutures in his lip. This incident resulted in a recordable injury.



What went wrong?

The technician had performed the task so often it became a routine task and he did not fully recognize the potential hazards of pulling on an open ended wrench while placing himself in the line of fire. Although a Shop Job Safety Checklist was completed, there was no consideration given to line of fire hazards and mitigations.


How do we Prevent from Happening Again?

Identify and discuss potential line of fire situations and recognition of the hazards of routine jobs. Discuss the importance of performing a thorough Job Safety Checklist/Job Hazard Analysis.

What actions do I take?

Immediately review this Safety Alert with all technicians and shop employees and discuss the prevention measures listed above. Review the "Line of Fire Top 10" presentation with all field technicians and shop employees and discuss how to effectively identify hazards (focusing on routine job hazards) during the Job Safety Checklist(JSC)/Job Hazard Analysis (JHA) process.

Verify through auditing of shop and field tasks that employees are consistently identifying line of fire hazards and routine task hazards during JSC/JHA completion.