Caught by Rotating Part

Hey kids! Die in an industrial accident, and the government will put you on a cool website and make you a CUSTOM COMIC!

Courtesy the Tofu Hut, we have OSHA’s “Fatal Facts” site, including but not limited to: Crushed by Dump Truck Body, Struck by Nail, Fire/Explosion and of course, Struck By/Caught Between. There is no number 63; there is no number 65; this is not a Monty Python sketch. Struck By/Caught Between sounds like a Pavement album from the 90s.

Two employees were making final adjustments to a large machine in a new paper mill facility. They were using two hydraulic jacks and two 4″ × 4″ uprights under one end of the 6,000 lb. piece of equipment which was suspended by four ¾ threaded rods. First, the employees would jack up one end of the piece about an inch. Then, one employee would climb a set of temporary steps to hand tighten the nuts on the threaded rods. Thus, the 6,000 lb. piece was supported solely by the two vertical timbers on the heads of the hydraulic jacks. The timbers were set under a 5/8″ side rail without any block or other devices between them. No cribbing, blocking, shoring or other stabilizing methods were used to secure the load after it was raised. When the end of the piece was jacked up, it fell, crushing one employee and narrowly missing the other.