Jenny Rodriguez, I.V. Domingo and Martha
Stiles
University of California Agricultural Health and Safety Center
The
worker's shirt sleeve was caught on the rotating shaft of
the PTO. His arm was almost severed, his neck was fractured,
and his head lacerated. He lost consciousness. His co-workers
called the ambulance service that took him to the nearest
emergency hospital. The worker survived, but lost his arm.
This
is another true account of a farm injury which could have
been prevented. It happened in December 1991 and was reported
to the NURSE project of the California Occupational Health
Program. The victim is a worker on a dairy farm. He was feeding
cows, using a tractor-drawn feed wagon. An auger turned inside
the wagon, mixing the feed and pushing it out to the troughs.
This auger is connected by a driveshaft to a power take-off
(PTO) unit at the back of the tractor. The PTO began to mal
unction. Leaving the engine idling , the worker climbed off
the tractor to check the attachment. From the ground, he tried
to reach for the lever to disengage the PTO. His left shirt
sleeve was caught on the rotating driveshaft, which was not
guarded.
Limb
amputations, fractures, and lacerations are just a few types
of injury that can result from entanglement with PTO assemblies
or other moving parts of farm machinery. Broken necks, shoulders
and spines, scalping, and even death have occurred due to such
unsafe behaviors as earlier described. PTOs transfer power
from the tractor to attached implements such as a balers,
feed wagons, nut sweepers, bed shapers, etc. PTOs can be very
dangerous if operated without shields. They rotate at 540
r 1,000 rpm and once clothing, jewelry, limb, or hair gets
caught, there is no time to disentangle.
It is
always necessary to exercise extreme caution when working
with machinery. By following the guidelines below, you can
prevent most injuries:
Check
the machinery thoroughly at the beginning of the day and correct
any malfunctions before using it .
Never
use PTOs without shields and make sure that all other guards
or shields are in place. These shields should meet the standards
set by Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
If the equipment was manufactured before the standards were
in place, your employer should have it retrofitted with the
proper safety shields. Likewise, worn and damaged shields
should be promptly replaced.
Wear
snug-fitting clothes. Tie long hair in a tight bun, or tuck
it under your hat or cap. Remove any loose jewelry like necklaces,
bracelets, watches or scarves that can get caught.
Always
stop the machine when a malfunction occurs. Disengage the
PTO and shut off the engine.
Always
replace shields and guards after making the needed repairs
or adjustments.
When
a piece of equipment malfunctions, some operators leave the
engine idling or keep the PTO engaged, believing that this
facilitates adjustment. Others simply do it to "save time".
However, you must always remember that entanglements happen
only as a result of contact with moving parts of machinery.
Always take the time to shut the machine off and wait until
the moving parts you need to work on have come to a complete
stop before even approaching it!
Disclaimer
and Reproduction Information: Information in NASD does not represent
NIOSH policy. Information included in NASD appears by permission
of the author and/or copyright holder. More
NASD Review: 04/2002
This
radio public service announcement was produced by the Agricultural
Health and Safety Center, Applied Behavioral Sciences of the
University of California at Davis. For further information contact
Jenny Rodriguez, UCCE, Ag. Bldg., County Civic Center, Visalia,
CA 93291-4584, (209) 733-6491.
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