Equipment World Digital Magazine
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/95873
safety watch | by Amy Materson Blown away Stay out of a tire's trajectory path during inflation The accident: A laborer was inflating a flat tire mounted to a multi-piece rim on a wheel loader. He was seated on a chair about 12 inches from the tire's sidewall, us- ing an air chuck attached to an air line and a compressor. Increased air pressure caused the tire to explode, knocking the worker ap- proximately 6 feet backwards. An employee who heard the explo- sion called emergency medical services personnel, who respond- ed and pronounced him dead on the scene from head trauma. The bottom line: A post-ac- cident investigation determined the rim's lock ring had become partially unseated when the tire fully deflated. The air compres- sor the worker was using had a faulty pressure gauge, making him unable to measure the tire's increasing pressure. The pressure caused the tire to exploded, which caused the locking ring and tire to dislodge from the rim. No defects were found in the wheel follow- ing an inspection. Accidents such as this are almost completely preventable, as long as you follow the correct steps. If you're assigned to inflate a tire, remember these guidelines: don't inflate it while the wheel is mounted on the equipment, particularly if the tire has less than 80 percent of the recom- mended pressure. Take the tire off the machine, disassemble and inspect the rim, then reas- semble and inflate the tire. front of, over, or otherwise in Information for this Safety Watch came from an accident report, OSHA 29CFR 1910.177 and the Center for Disease Control's NIOSH Date of safety talk: Leader: the trajectory of the tire. If the tire is simply under-inflated, and has more than 80 percent of the recommended pressure, it can be inflated while on the equipment. However, OSHA re- quires the tire be inflated from a distance – standing behind the tire tread while using a long air line with a clip-on chuck, and an in-line valve with a pressure gauge. and wheel components to make sure they are properly seated and locked. Never try to repo- sition side and lock rings by forcing or hammering the com- ponents while the tire is pres- surized. Rim components that show damage such as bends, cracks or breaks should never be welded or reworked. Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation program. It is meant for general information only. Sponsored by Tear this out and share with your crew EW1212 Tear along perforated edges Illustration by Don Lomax