Real Life Incident: Major Injury To Ship Electrician From Grinder

On board a vessel, an electrician was cutting a steel pipe with a grinding tool. The protecting guard of the grinder had been removed to permit the use of a larger disc. Suddenly, the grinding disk shattered and flying disc parts caused a deep cut on the victim’s right hand. The crew member could not subsequently fulfil his duties and had to be repatriated.

The company investigation revealed that the disc in use had sustained initial fractures prior to the accident event use. Also, the victim was not wearing a face protection mask nor using working gloves.

The company review of grinding accidents within the industry found that the common causes of grinding accidents were:

• Using a damaged grinding wheel;
• Using the wrong type of disc for the job;
• The machine speed and disc speed are incompatible;
• Poor machine maintenance;
• Lack of training;
• Operator carelessness.

Lessons learned

• There are so many! Let’s start with the easy one – always wear appropriate PPE. And yet, this is your last line of protection.
• Never ‘jury-rig’ a tool. Taking the protecting guard off the grinder to insert a larger disc is a foolish and dangerous move.
• It is good practice to inspect the grinding disc for damage or small cracks prior to use.
• Before use, check to see if the disc has an expiry date. The shelf life of a grinder disc can vary depending on several factors, including storage conditions. Humidity and temperature can negatively affect disc shelf life.
• The switches on angle grinders can be sensitive, ie, easily knocked into ON position. When changing blades, switch off the power at the power point and pull the plug out of the socket.
• Never put a grinder down until the disc stops rotating.