I hate pedestal drills.....

I hate pedestal drills. On my countless plant tours throughout the globe I always stop and point out the hidden dangers that pedestal drills possess. In Europe on one such visit the plant manager responded “Yeah, but Alex how really dangerous is it?” I replied that I could fill many gloves with the fingers that have been ripped off by this machinery in our industry. Sadly, I posted another incident on the Aluminium Plant Safety Blog (APSB) today. A worker was wearing loose fitting gloves while using a pedestal drill. Probably something that he did countless times before without an incident. But, this time the worker wouldn’t be so lucky. The rotating drill caught a loose part of his glove, and now the worker has one less finger on his right hand. After the investigation it was determined that the procedure the company (and worker) thought was safe was actually not. The company was operating under a false safety belief. That is where a process or method is deemed safe because no incident had occurred in the past overtime it develops into a standard procedure. It is only after an incident occurs that the procedure was found to be dangerous and only by luck an incident had not occurred before.

Pedestal drills in the aluminium industry have been responsible for the amputation of dozens of fingers, a few hands, and at least the scalping that I am aware of. I am not advocating removing this machinery from our industry. Nor do I believe aluminium companies are malice in these incidents. But I am advocating that each plant be aware of the hidden dangers of pedestal drills.

What should you do if your company has a pedestal drill? Find out how old your pedestal drill is? Contact the manufacturer and ask if your specific model has the latest safety mechanisms. If it does not, work with the manufacturer to retrofit the equipment. Next, look at your plant procedures on using that machinery. Your procedures should be aligned with the manufacturer’s operating manual.

Lastly, I feel awkward talking about my hatred of pedestal drills. But, my awkwardness is nothing compared to the sadness I feel when I post an incident involving this machinery. I pray I never post another incident where a man or woman has been injured by a pedestal drill.