FATAL ALERT – OILFIELD EQUIPMENT REPAIR
FACILITIES THAT HAVE NO GUARD PROTECTION
On May 20, 2013, an employee working for an oilfield equipment repair
facility was “pulled into” a vertical lathe used for refurbishing large oilfield
blow out preventer piece of equipment. At
the time of the accident, the employee was in the process of examining the cutting
bit and surface of the blowout preventer piece of equipment. During this inspection process, the blowout preventer
piece continued to turn at approximately 10 to 12 revolutions per minute. The employee discovered that the cutting bit associated
with the lathe had been broken by an uneven surface on the interior of the blowout
preventer piece. As the blowout preventer
piece continued to turn, a threaded small bore piping adapter protruding approximately
1 ½” to 2” from the exterior of the blowout preventer piece, caught the pocket of
the sweatshirt being worn by the employee/operator and caused him to be pulled into
the gap between the frame of the lathe and the rotating chuck causing severe injuries
to his chest and head. The employee later died at the hospital from blunt force
trauma to the chest and head.
Root Cause and Significant Contributing Factors
·
The employer did not have any policies or
procedures developed or implemented for the operation of the vertical lathe.
·
The operator of the lathe is required to work in
close proximity to the rotating table (chuck).
·
The hand controls for the lathe are located as close
as 23” to the rotating table (chuck).
·
The operator of the lathe is required to
frequently lean over the item being turned by the lathe to examine the work being
performed for tool wear and quality control.
·
The vertical lathe was approximately 60 years
old and did not have any guarding as part of the equipment.
·
The employer has specific verbiage in their Health
and Safety Program identifying the requirement of not wearing loose clothing around
the vertical lathe.
·
The employer representative stated that he relied
on the employee (who had 30 plus years of experience in machining work) to exercise
good judgment and utilize his expertise while utilizing the vertical lathe.
Recommendations
·
Brief all future and current employees on the safety
aspects of all areas of the job.
·
Ensure that adequate guarding is provided to and
used by employees that may use the vertical lathe.
·
Develop and implement procedures for the safe
use and operation of the vertical lathe.
·
Ensure that safety meetings are being conducted prior
to the start of all projects to discuss the work to be performed, identifying the
potential safety hazards and implementing safe work procedures to control
hazards.
