Incident alert
ACTIVITY:
MAINTENANCE & HOUSEKEEPING
DATE ISSUED:
14/04/2015 16:51:30
TITLE
Articulated Dumper Truck Incident
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN
United Kingdom
ACCIDENT / INCIDENT DETAILS
The following alert has been shared through the Highways Agency (National Health & Safety Team);
During a routine daily maintenance operation a plant operator needed to access a bank of grease points on an articulated dumper truck that was situated under the skip of the vehicle.
To carry out this procedure the operator decided to fully extend the skip to gain better access to the greasing points. In order to do this the skip requires to be locked off to prevent the skip being inadvertently lowered or in the event of hydraulic failure.
Whilst attempting to engage the locking mechanism the plant operator found that alignment could not be achieved and this prevented the insertion of the safety pin fully and asked a colleague to drop the skip slightly to try and align the holes.
The pressure from the movement of the skip caused the safety pin to eject with enough force to strike the plant operator's hand causing serious trauma. This has resulted in hospitalisation and the surgical amputation of his right hand middle finger.
ACCIDENT / INCIDENT IMAGES
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LEARNING POINTS / ACTIONS TAKEN
• Review all plant provisions to ensure the safest equipment is in operation.
• Review all vehicles / plant maintenance operations and ensure they are being carried out correctly and all safety devices on any work equipment operate in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions.
• If the safety device does not function in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions, and prevents the plant / vehicle from working safely, park up your vehicle/plant and report it immediately to your supervisor.
• 'Do Not Use' signage must be visibly placed on the vehicle/plant and should also be locked where possible and keys returned to your supervisor pending repair to the safety device.
• Where the design of the vehicle is considered a contributory factor, ensure any findings are communicated through to the manufacturer / supplier for their continual improvement.
LEARNING POINTS / ACTIONS IMAGES
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