Right hand hit by flying wedge

A member has reported an incident in which a member of the crew was injured when a steel wedge came loose and hit him on the right hand. The injured person was working in a winch room replacing the band brakes of a winch and had completed similar work on two other winches without any problems.

During the insertion of the brake belt pin with the help of a hydraulic jack, a steel wedge (weight 2.4 kilograms) was used to hold the foundation plate in the right position. Just before the pin was fully inserted in the pad eye/hinge-point, the wedge came loose with a lot of energy, and hit the injured person who was not wearing gloves, against his right hand. The injured person received the necessary medical treatment (four stitches) and was subsequently able to continue work under restricted conditions.

Our member’s investigation revealed the following:

• There were two direct causes of the incident:
  • the injured person’s position with respect to the job he was doing
  • the improper position of equipment used – the steel wedge;
• The root cause of the incident was considered to be inadequate experience/supervision (the injured person had less than three months’ experience on this vessel);
• A significant contributing factor was that the injured person was not using available PPE (gloves) and was performing the task in a tight/cramped working area.

Our member made the following corrective actions:

• Time out for safety: work was stopped and incident discussed with personnel involved;
• Further emphasis was given to the importance of safe position with respect to unexpected flying objects;
• Further guidance and job instructions were given to relative newcomers;
• Shared lessons were discussed at shift briefings.