Rig Hand Entangled In Rotating Drive Shaft While Hanging Light in Rig Substructure

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Michigan Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (Project) (MIFACE) ; Michigan State University. Department of Medicine. Occupational and Environmental Medicine
• Description:
  On February 15, 2002, a 31-year-old male rig hand/welder was fatally injured when he was pulled upward and entangled in the rotating drive shaft between the chain case and the rotary table in the substructure of the oilrig derrick. The victim had previously removed a non-working light from the rig substructure and taken it to the doghouse, a general-purpose room that is a combination tool shed, meeting room, office and communications center. The replacement light was a 2-foot, 2-bulb fluorescent light with a 6-8-foot-long cord. To attach the light to the rig substructure beam, he stood on either the hydraulic winches that lift the drill pipe, or the winch mounting brackets, or both. The winches/mounting brackets were located about 3½ feet above the rotary drive box for the chain case drive unit. Standing on the winches/mounting brackets placed him approximately 3 feet below and to the right of the rotating drive shaft. The 2-foot-long drive shaft was approximately 8" in diameter, was located approximately 4-6 inches below the rig floor deck and was rotating at least 70 rpm. The rig was not shut down or locked out during the removal of the defective light or when placing the replacement light. The event was unwitnessed, so it is unknown how the victim became entangled in the drive shaft. A co-worker heard a thumping sound and observed the victim spinning with the drive shaft. The co-worker shut down the rig and emergency services were called. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene. Recommendations: 1. Employers should ensure that workers follow established lockout/tagout procedures for control of hazardous energy prior to service and maintenance of equipment. 2. Employers should train workers to recognize potential workplace hazards and participate actively in workplace safety. 3. Company management should consider developing a joint health and safety committee. 4. The company should develop a written disciplinary procedure for safety and health policy violations. 5. Oilrig manufacturers should consider engineering a guard to provide worker protection from rotating drive shafts when working in the derrick substructure.
• Content Notes:
  Publication Date provided by FACE program ; not printed on the report.
• Subjects:
  • Accident Prevention
  • Accidents
  • Accidents, Occupational
  • Engineering
  • Occupational Health
  • Occupational Injuries
  • Oil and Gas Industry
  • Safety
  • Safety Management
  • Staff Development
  More +
• Keywords:
  • Accident-analysis
  • Accident-potential
  • Accident-prevention
  • Accidents
  • Injuries
  • Injury-prevention
  • Safety-education
  • Safety-equipment
  • Safety-practices
  • Safety-measures
  More +
• FACE - NIOSH and State:
  FACE
• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Subseries:
  State
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHSFACE02MI016
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Michigan ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  11 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20026795
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2008-106461
• Citation:
  Morgantown, WV: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, FACE 02MI016, 2002 Sep ; :1-10
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2002
• Performing Organization:
  Michigan State University
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  23 - Construction - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  2002/09/01
• End Date:
  2006/08/31
• Resource Number:
  FACE-02MI016
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/169184/cdc_169184_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 359.09 KB]
• Collection(s):
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Program ; National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:b3a7a778cc8b31900310e43b7fd80f11767cfde11c7c21688a8167d04aa8caf455295c6f12db3545531d1139b9768b5e6d0a5b20add103440661363e6bfad7ac