Identification, evaluation, and prevention of mechanical hazards in a roller by William Fine's Method

Abstract

The mechanical risk factors in the laboratory are present in various work environments, especially when working with: machines, tools and rocks, which can cause injuries due to the mechanical action of these elements, the operator may run the risk of entrapment, crushing, friction or abrasions. Through the application of the mechanical milling process, the aim is to prevent these hazards by developing an operating procedure that contemplates their identification, prevention, and assessment of potential accidents.

The present study focuses on the risks associated with the use of a roller crusher in the rock mechanics laboratory, motivated by an accident that occurred in the roller crushing machine, for which the acts, unsafe conditions and causal factors that produced the accident were identified as human and mechanical failures that intervened in the accident, with a higher degree of importance.

Through the investigation of the accident that occurred in the rock mechanics laboratory, it was identified that the risk factors are of the “mechanical” type. Once identified, the respective evaluation was carried out using William Fine's method determining the degree of danger, consequence, exposure, and probability and finally, corrective actions were proposed to mitigate future occupational accidents.