Lock out procedures

[Jeff]

In 1981 I worked as a head sawyer in Clare Michigan. I was 19 years old and indestructable. I had been told by my employer that any time that I worked on or around my mill, it needed to have the power disconnected and locked out with a keyed lock.

   I rarely did it. If I was just getting out to sharpen or file the saw, I would never do it because I could clearly see if anyone entered my control booth, and that was the only way for my saw to start.

   Whenever I did stop to sharpen, it was common practice for a couple of the mill hands to come and shovel accumulated sawdust from under the mill tracks into the sawdust elevator.

   This day was no different. I was leaning against the headsaw filing or examining the sawteeth, the millhands were shoveling there next to me. The next thing I know I was laying between the tracks on the cement floor looking up at a running headsaw, not wanting to look down because I knew i must be badly injured. As it turned out I was only banged up from being deposited upside down through the mill tracks on to the floor.

   What happened was this.

The head rig was powered by a 3 phase, 440 volt electric motor. It was started by a magnetic switch that was located inside the control booth. This switch is connected to a starter, which is basicly an electric coil that pulls  electrical contacts together to complete the circuit to start the saw. As it turned out this starter was located on a wall opposite of the mill, so the wires from the switch ran in a conduit from the saw booth across the floor under the mill, and up this wall to the starter.

While the mill hands were shoveling, one of them hit the conduit with his shovel, breaking it. That in turn broke the control wires inside and they shorted together. This activated the starter, which in turn started the headsaw with no one anywhere near the start button.

I was *DanG lucky. In that instant the saw started, it hooked my leather belt, turned me completely upside down, and then just dropped me head first between the tracks with out touching me again.
 
  I still have that belt with the 1/2 inch tear where the saw hooked it, I still, after 20 years have that image burned in my mind of that big saw running above me as I lay on the floor, to scared to look down at my body, But what is different is this. I always disconnect the power supply, whenever I do any kind of maintanence around my equipment. Things can happen that you will never ever dream of.
 

  

[Ron Scott]

More good safety meeting topics! There almost wasn't a Timber Buyers Network!

[timberbeast]

Gotcha for two.....not all accidents are caused by power equipment,  but most are caused by being in a hurry,  overly tired,  or complacency.  Two examples,  and I knew better both times.
1.  The work is done for the day,  the dinner is cooking,  and I'm splitting kindling with a two-bitted axe.  A small block of cedar rolls downhill,  so I just follow it and decide to split it there.  I don't check the work area around me,  and as I take my first swing,  holding the log with my hand,  the handle becomes fouled in some brush behind me and the axe hits my hand.  I'm over 30 miles from the nearest hospital.  A round-trip to the hospital,  and 19 stitches later,  I shudder when I realize that the cut (and scar,  now) is approximately one-half inch above my wrist.  I was very tired,  and in a hurry.  I don't split kindling under those conditions now,  and I don't split anything that won't stand up by itself.  Two hands on the axe-handle.  And no brush behind or around me.
2.  Skidding.  Many of us cannot afford skidders or crawlers,  and have to skid with farm-type tractors,  without winches,  which means wrapping a slip-chain around the log,  or logs and pulling it on the ground.  This can be extremely hazardous,  and much care must be taken.  With a smaller tractor,  it is very easy to do a "wheelie" if your log hits a stump.  You must plan your path with extreme care.  A few years back,  I was pulling a 16 foot White Pine,  approximately 18" at the small end.  Conditions were perfect,  dry ground with plenty of slash on the ground for more traction.  Some of the slash covered a stump which I had cut earlier.  This was the last log of the day.  Once I got it out,  my work was done for the day,  so I revved up and blasted my way put of the woods towards my landing.  I felt a "clunk",  and the front end lifted a bit.  I backed up a couple of feet,  and gave it hell.  Felt the "clunk" again,  but then was clear.  As I continued,  a very large log thumped to the ground just to my right.  Confusion!  What is this?  Well,  upon stopping and looking,  as you have probably guessed,  it was the log I was pulling.  It hit the stump,  and apparently pivoted straight up,  reversed ends,  and flipped down next to me.  I don't think I have to tell you what would have happened if it would have come down ON ME.  We're all in a hurry,  sadly,  but all I had to do was turn around and look and I would have known what was up,  and could have changed my angle of pull to clear the stump.  BE CAREFUL!!!!   This stuff isn't a game!

[Tom]

Sometimes you don't have to be envolved in a macho thing to get hurt.  I was building a cedar chest for my wife and tried to cut a short piece on a 5 horse, 10" unisaw.  The piece kicked and my instinct was to grab it.  The end of the middle finger on my left hand looked like a fire cracker had gone off in it.

"Doc, will I be able to play my guitar?"

"I don't know, could you play it before?"

I've learned a lot about table saws since then.

[Jeff]

Only one thread in this category? Come on, am I the only accident prone person willing to talk?? Or could it be you feel I have to be out done? well don't! that was not the goal of this topic area.

I'll have to get Wildflower on here and have her post on the wrong way to unhook a utility trailor half full of shredded bark.

[Gordon]

Jeff no disrespect here, but would you give that keyboard up long enough to let her get her second post?    Just kiddin.;)

I've got a few to add on this subject, as well as the safety subject.

Did the trailer have the auto unload turned on once the ball coupler was unhooked?
Gordon

[Ron Wenrich]

Jeff:

You're not the only accident prone person on the board.  Anyone working around any kind of equipment will have had at least one brush with certain injury.

I've had several.  But, the one that sticks in my mind the best was working on a firewood processor.

The owner had elevated the processor to make it portable.  I'm not sure of the make, but, it had a circular cutoff saw, instead of a chainsaw.  Operation was to pull the log ahead in a chained trough.  Log was clamped and cut.  Firewood was dumped into the splitter, and split.  The splitter used an unprotected foot pedal.

I was working alone.  I was cutting small wood, and it didn't need any splitting.  The problem was, those pieces would get turned and would be in line with the circular saw.  Unsecured pieces could fly in any direction.

So, I would go over and stand on the frame of the splitter and toss the pieces aside.  On one trip, I felt something tightening on my foot and knew what it was in an instant.  The splitter was making a cycle.  On my way over to the splitter, I must have tripped the foot pedal.  This was gonna hurt.

I had visions of being stuck there, but, then I remembered it made a full cycle.  I also invisioned a mangled foot.  But, I looked at my boot.  It tore off the toe of my boot and the toe of my sock.  All the toes were in place, except the middle one.  The bone was sticking out.

I crawled over the machine, turned it off, and went over to my truck. There wasn't much bleeding, so, I reasoned that I could drive to the hospital quicker than waiting for an ambulance.  I did, but there were some bouts of pain.  I lost the end of my middle toe.

I wasn't wearing safety toed boots.  If I had been, it would have cut off all my toes.  If the foot pedal would have been protected, the accident could have been avoided.

[stickbilt]

I can't tell you how many times I have changed a blade on a tablesaw or skilsaw without unplugging it. Just now I was thinking about how the trigger sticks occasionally on a skilsaw. Never again will I leave a power tool plugged in while changing a blade. I already learned the "guard lesson". You know the one where you don't have a guard in place or you have it "jacked" for one reason or another. I was cutting stair stringers with an old skilsaw that didn't have an operational guard on it(back when I was indestructable). I finished a cut and heard a sound from across the street and looked over to see and set the saw right on my leg next to my kneecap. The saw flew out of my hand and landed about four feet away. Off to the emergency room for thirty stiches. It was awful sore at work the next day.  :(

[Woodlotguy]

Unfortunatly these stories are too common. I lost my dad to a tractor roll over when his drag hooked on a stump in the early 70's.

My axe story is good. I was splitting wood with a double bitted axe and swung it one handed to haul a fresh block off the pile. There was a large "O"-ring hanging fro a beam. When the axe caught it it acted as a sling shot and returned the axe full force into my face, embedding it into the side of my nose. It took a chip out of the bone under my left eye. My step father looked at all the blood gushing from my face and said,"You just have to be different don't you. Why can't you just cut your hand or your foot like everyone else?"

When I was in high School I used to work week ends shoveling sawdust at the local sawmill. We had a very strict lock-out rule for any one working on any machinery. We had shoveled sawdust into the conveyers for most of the day and when it was time to empty them we simply turned them on.
Well it turns out there was a millwright working on the conveyer to the burner who had neglected to "Lock-out". Fortunatly he was able to get out ok but by the time he got the conveyer shut down, all his tools had been dumped into the burner. He tried to have us fired but the whip wrote him up instead for neglecting to lock-out.

Woodlotguy.

[Paul_H]

In 1994,we were working in the Soo Valley,building road.The Forest Service were there to meet with us,and the Engineers,to go over road location.
I went to get the fallers,as they needed to be there because of impact to wetlands.The were falling road right of way and as I approached the heading,I could hear their saws,but couldn't see them.
ALWAYS,wait for visual contact with the fallers before entering their quarter.I knew that,but after a few minutes,got tired of waiting.The saws sounded far away,so I walked to the end of the road,and was starting up a little rise.About 50' away,straight off the end of the road,a big Balsam Fir was groaning and heading straight toward me I started to run back down the road.My thoughts were of my kids,and of what a stupid way to go.I realized I couldn't outrun it, and jumped in the ditch to my right.I hugged the cut bank and prayed.
The tree hit dead center of the road.The wind and dust blew my hat right off.The limbs as big as a mans arms, smashed all around
Quick as it happened I grabbed my hat,(shock?) and ran up the log toward the faller.He was just getting ready to come down and buck it.When he saw me,he grabbed his heart.His partner came over,and he was some mad.

I don't blame him,my impatience,and stupidity,could have left them with a real mess to deal with.Fallers have enough to deal with already.

[Ron Scott]

I know that feeling and have a broken biltmore stick to show for it and a good lesson learned. Also, don't assume that the tree will fall where you think its going.

[thecfarm]

When I worked for the state working on low income houses I was drilling the house for the guy coming behind me to blow in the insulation.I was under a porch drilling and it came loose.Left it plugged in and tightened the chuck.I gave it one more twist and I still had my finger on the trigger.When I did I pressed the trigger and tore the skin between my thumb and fore finger.That was a mess.Was only about 6 stiches but it riped my hand wide open.Nothing there to stop it.From than on I always unplug anything that I am adjusting.Not much of a story but I'm sticking to it.Now we have LOTO at work.Things can and do happen when there is more than 2 people around.I always use it at work.I really don't have any woods story to tell.I'm very careful,thanks to my Father.We always took the time and did it the safe way.We always used a tractor in the woods too.I've cut a few trees that did things that I was glad I was out of the way when it happened.

[Bill]

Well as long as it doesn't have to be logging stories I've got one from quite a few years back when I was a mechanic. Even though I worked at a dealership a bunch of friends would ask me to work on their supercars ( 60's / early 70's ). Well one friend "appointed" me his mechanic for his 69 Z/28. We did a few things to it and it ran pretty well ( in spite of us ? ). Anyways one evening he says that his clutch needed adjusting and could I just do it for him quick - before he heads out on a Saturday night or such. So instead of going to my place for jack stands and a proper floor jack, in his driveway we used his bumper jack which usually is sufficient to change tires and things. Well you see where this is going. I'm under there and he's peering in when whomp ! That jack gave way and to this day we don't know why. Now I'm not a big guy but I have been called a fat head and there ain't much but a couple inches clearance between the undercarriage and the ground. I'm not quite sure why the good Lord had the pity to allow my head to be situated exactly in the space between the bellhousing and the Muncie 4 speed - I could not move my head - period. My friend had heart palpitations till he heard my voice and repositioned the jack to get me outa there. We didn't adjust the clutch anymore till it was back at my place.