LTI – fingertip pinched by wire sling

A rigger suffered a serious injury when his finger got trapped between a sling and one of the forks on a fork-lift truck. The incident occurred when the rigger was installing a steel wire sling on one fork of the fork-lift truck in stand-by, and the fork-lift operator started to lift the fork without instruction or alert from the banksman nearby.

What went wrong

• The experienced fork-lift operator started to lift the fork without any instructions, without any reference to the Banksman who was the person through whom communication ought have been channelled;
• The rigger took no account of the fact that his fingers were IN THE LINE OF FIRE;
• Neither the task nor its risks were suitably assessed by the lifting team.

What were the causes

Our member identified the following as causes:

• Complacency – the fork-lift operator acted without thinking, based on previous experience;
• Lack of communication.

Lessons

• Always wait on clear instructions or signals from the Banksman during lifting operations, particularly if you don’t have a clear overview of the work area;
• Think through where you position yourself – keep out of the line of fire;
• Ensure everyone involved in the task takes part in, and is properly briefed at, a toolbox meeting before starting, and that this meeting covers all the hazards involved;
• Our member took steps to arrange for this particular task to be done in a different way in order to prevent recurrence.

Members may wish to refer to:

• Line of fire LTI: Finger injury during lifting operations
• Lack of safety awareness: crush injury during lifting operations
• Crushed finger injury during wire transfer operations