28.05.2016
Lucky escape
A truck driver had a lucky escape after his loader crane caught up in high tension overhead power lines in the small village of Saint Menge, South of Nancy in the Voges region of France yesterday.
The man had been loading packs of flat glass at the Sibelco plant in the village and must have go distracted as he climbed into the truck and drove off without stowing the crane. As he had reached the entrance to the plant and the crane caught up in the overhead power line sending 63,000 volts down the boom to earth the tyres immediately burst into flames by thanks the isolated cab the driver was unhurt.
He remained in the cab until the emergency services arrived and gave him the all clear to get out, he was also lucky that the fire did not spread from the tyres to the truck.
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Sherm
This mess is tough luck bad news and truly inexcusable job performance. The driver had better give thanks to a higher power than 63,000 volts that his life was spared. If he is not terminated his pay should be set back to entry level to start over. Leap over the globe to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma where last week an 18 wheeler hauling a hired JLG lift caught the underside of a concrete overpass and wiped out the highway the lift and stopped traffic for a great long time. If those folks had done their homework to measure clearance on both lanes before making the trip they could have chosen a different route or taken the inordinate time to deflate tires of the lift and the trailer to make safe passage under the bridge. That's all it would have cost! Now look at the mess they are in. Gads! Common sense comes through and from common knowledge. What is happening to us that causes us not to think things through before we take action?
At last count about two years ago I noted a list of approximately 18 organizations devoted to work at height or related activity. Are these associations in concert for safety practices and basic standard? Isn't someone out there trying to convene collaborative efforts to make work and work operations safer?
I have repeatedly quietly thanked the insurance company Liberty Mutual for a six-week class on Wednesday afternoons which they conducted in 1973 on accident prevention for my Foodservice operations of six industrial cafeterias. The option of rejecting this training was to find another insurer for workers comp coverage for my staff of 48 people. The class fit the issues so well and helped each of us look at work processes and facility management in a better way. The class was free!