This morning, during my e-mail checking ritual, I received a message of another finger or thumb amputation that occurred with an Air Force Airman.
If you hadn’t heard, a few months ago an Air Force commander lost part of his finger while he was cleaning a woodworking machine in his garage at home while the machine was running. The towel he was using became entangled in a rotating part and pulled his hand into the cutter area.
Fast forward to this morning and it seems another Air Force Airman met the same fate. The Airman was cleaning his motorcycle on a lift while the engine was running when his thumb was pulled into the motorcycle’s chain because the cleaning cloth he was holding in his hand became entangled in the chain. The result: amputation of his thumb.
I’m sure by now you can pick out a couple of commonalities: Both Airmen were working on their machines while running and they didn’t keep loose items like clothing, towels and cloths away from moving machine parts.
Thinking you’ll be “super careful” or having the mindset of, “It won’t happen to me,” is simply an illusion that’ll eventually catch-up with you and perpetuate your membership in the finger-amputee club.
So next time you’re doing some preventative maintenance, cleaning or parts-replacing on a machine, keep those mishaps in mind.
Always turn-off and unplug a machine prior to working on it. Even after turning it off, make sure there is no residual energy (springs, capacitors, etc.) remaining in the machine that can cause injury.
Keep in mind that it only takes a second for a lapse judgement or lapse of situational-awareness to put you in a pickle. By the same token, it only takes a second or two to turn-off/unplug your machine prior to working on it.
Stay safe!