While operating a power hoist, a trained and experienced contractor momentarily trapped the tip of his left thumb between the hoist body and the boss above the hook.

At the time, he was focused on guiding the load, when the left thumb (non-dominant) became trapped when he operated the hoist pendant using his other hand. He was able to lower the hoist immediately to free off his hand. He was working on the alternative fuel Pfister hopper in the PHT. Initially, the incident was reported at the weekend as a first aid treatment, and the individual continued to attend work since.

However, it was later informed that he sustained a small fracture to the bone at the very tip of the thumb. In line with company policy reporting criteria, this incident was reclassified as a Medical Treatment Case.  

Images

The image on the left shows the boss whilst in a lowered position. The second image shows the boss in its upper trip position between the shoulders of the casing and illustrates how, despite the ‘safety gap’, it is still possible for the thumb to be nipped (the blue spot shows where the gloved thumb was caught). The final image shows the relative height of the beam and the limited space available.

Safe Systems - Work was being carried out as part of the kiln major overhaul. Work was authorised via a permit to work. The team were briefed and had read through the RAMS. The permit contained additional assessment and controls. Take 5 completed.

Competency - The IP joined his employment company in 2021 and had extensive experience of working on this type of task and was appropriately trained.

PPE - All required PPE was worn, including suitable ‘riggor’ and cut proof protective gloves for the task.

Standards - A ‘CM Lodestar’ electric hoist, had been recently installed, it was being used to assist with the safe removal of the Pfister components. This setup included a lifting beam and trapdoor arrangement. The hoist unit, which is virtually new, was inspected and found to have no faults. At the time of the incident, the load being lifted was well within the system’s Safe Working Load (SWL) capacity.

Note: This hoist had been installed in response to a risk identified by the maintenance team during previous work on the Pfister. The hoist eliminates a manual handling task and supports the strategic focus on reducing manual handling interventions.

The injury occurred when the injured person (IP) attempted to manually guide the load by holding the hook during hoisting. A moments loss of concentration resulted in the IP’s left thumb becoming trapped.

A contributing factor to the incident was the design of the lifting beam and hoist setup. Due to space constraints caused by surrounding equipment, the chain lift point cannot be centrally aligned with the trap door, requiring the IP to manually guide the load into position. Additionally, the hoist was mounted at head height (again due to space constraints), creating an accessible nip point between the hook and the casing.