On January 21, 2013, a 54-year old mechanic with 6 years of experience was killed at a lime operation. The victim went to a kiln pre-heat deck to repair a leaking hydraulic cylinder that activates a pusher arm on the kiln. He was caught between the corner of the angle iron and the plate connecting the push rods.
- Establish and discuss safe work procedures. Identify and control all hazards associated with the work to be performed along with the methods to properly protect persons.
- Always follow the equipment manufacturer’s recommended maintenance procedures when conducting repairs to machinery.
- Task train all persons to recognize all potential hazardous conditions and understand safe job procedures to eliminate all hazards before beginning work.
- Before working on or near equipment, ensure that the equipment power circuits are locked out/tagged out and that the equipment is blocked against hazardous motion.
- Require all persons to be positioned to prevent them from being exposed to any hazards.
- Monitor personnel to ensure safe work procedures, including lock out/ tag out and safe work positioning, are followed.
- Ensure guarding is in place to cover potential pinch points and moving parts in areas routinely accessed by personnel.
Click here for: MSHA Preliminary Report (pdf), MSHA Investigation Report (pdf), Overview (powerpoint), Overview (pdf).