How a Simple Mistake with an Industrial Fan Led to a Serious Injury – What Can We Learn?

[Brief Description of the Incident:]
An injury occurred in our project on August 25, 2010, in the W2, W3 Laydown area.

[Industrial Fan Incident in Rest Shelter]
An individual stood in front of an industrial fan to cool themselves, grabbing the back part of the rotating fan to direct it towards them. Unfortunately, their right ring finger went through the fan cover, coming into contact with the blades and resulting in an injury.

I have attached the Project Safety Alert regarding the Industrial Fan Incident in the rest shelter.

Regards,
Aijazuddin

Dear,

I appreciate Mr. Aijazuddin for posting it.

He or someone else conducted an investigation of the case. Causes were established. Recommendations to avoid recurrence were also provided. Are these recommendations going to stop the recurrence of it? - I doubt!

Present recommendation:-

"To avoid repetition of these incidents:

• Do not grab the fan by the fan cover
• Switch off equipment before moving it
• Use handles/grips fitted to the equipment for movement/handling
• Manage equipment cables (electric cords) to prevent tripping hazards
• If possible, fix the fan overhead in the rest shelter to prevent workers from moving/adjusting it."

There was that apple with the warning sign - "DO NOT EAT IT." Of course, it was eaten. We continue to have the same apple with more warnings. We fail to stop at least a few from eating it.

The above recommendations are going to stop the recurrence of the accident in question or not?

Kindly post your approach, please.

Regards,

Kesava Pillai

Dear Mr. Kesava Pillai,

My answer is no.

The recommendations should contain one point regarding the modification of the fan cover in such a way that if a person willfully wishes to put his finger into it, that should also fail.

Regards,
Dipil Kumar V

Measures to prevent similar accidents on pedestal fans:

See if you can provide or ask for a cover guard made of fine mesh (fine enough to prevent fingertips from entering the fan cover guards and reaching the moving fan blades) on the fan. Explore the possibility of adding ear handles on the left and right sides of the fan guard. These handles could facilitate the turning around of the fan, preventing individuals from touching the fan cover guards when required.

RDKichambare, Industrial Safety Professional.