Left Eye Injury From Blending Repair Weld

Safety Lesson Learned: Left Eye Injury From Blending Repair Weld
Location of Incident: Dragline 28

Brief Account of Incident
At approximately 1300HRS on the 14th Jan 2003, a boilermaker (not a Fluor project) suffered a serious eye injury from a fragment of shattered grinding disc penetrating the inner lens of his welding helmet and subsequently his eye. The employee was grinding a repair weld on the lower stabiliser link of the RHS propel of the dragline with a 5 inch electric grinder when it is believed
that the tool jammed. It then appears that upon releasing the grinder, the disc shattered and penetrated his eye protection.

The injured person was transported and treated by an eye specialist upon arrival. He has suffered a permanent loss of vision in his left eye.

Contibuting Factors
Pending outcomes of the final investigation, preliminary findings indicate that the below factors may have contributed to the injury:
- Restricted work environment necessitating close proximity to the area being ground.
- Jamming/stalling of the grinder and subsequent failure of the disc wheel.
- The inner lens of the welding helmet, which should be impact resistant, may inadvertently have been replaced with an anti-splatter cover lens, offering little impact resistance.

As the inner lens of welding helmets are interchangeable, it is possible to replace the inner polycarbonate lens with an anti-splatter cover lens, the latter offering minimal impact resistance

Improvement Measurement
The following preventive actions are being adressed:
- Check of welding helmets on site to ensure the correct lens plates are installed in the correct position.
- Discussion of the incident possible causes and interim preventative measures with mine site personnel.
- Interim measure of mandating a face shield and safety glasses be worn whilst performing grinding as opposed to welding helmets
- Further investigation into equipment and tooling capability / protection levels