Much of the information in the following slides was made available from the Fluid Power Safety Institute .

1. Much of the information in the following slides was made available from the Fluid Power Safety Institute. Rory McLaren, the founder of the organization, has dedicated his life to researching and preventing accidents related to Fluid Power. There is a wealth of information on the website as well as links to other resources. Take a few minutes and look at www.fluidpowersafety.com

2. Fluid Power Safety What in the world is Fluid Power, anyway? Well, a Fluid is something that flows. So, Water is a fluid; Oil is a fluid; Air is a fluid; Grease is a fluid; you get the idea. So, what is Fluid Power? Well, when we take something that flows and direct it for some useful function, we call it Fluid Power.

3. We will need something to make the fluid flow, and something to direct the flow to where it is useful. What causes the fluid flow is a displacement device. What directs the flow is the series of channels, connections and valves that limit the direction and force with which the fluid flows.

4. What is a displacement device? It is something that forces the fluid to move fromdis-place to dat-place.

5. Actually, Fluid Power is a method of transferring energy. It is a way to take rotary mechanical power produced by an electric motor or a combustion engine and transfer it to a work site. Rotary motion is converted into fluid flow and then converted back into either rotary or linear motion at the work site. What we need to understand is that, while the fluid is transferring the energy to the work site, it has the potential to release its energy in an uncontrolled manner. The uncontrolled release of energy is the thing that concerns us.

6. Fluid Power Safety Why do we need to be concerned about Fluid Power Safety? After all, I take a shower and wash my hands. I water my lawn. I had squirt-gun fights when I was a kid. What’s the big deal? If you live in the country, the water pressure at your home is probably about 60 psi. If you live in the city, the water pressure at your home may be about 110 psi. When you water your lawn, the water leaves the nozzle at about 60 miles per hour. Our Pneumatic Systems release high pressure air travelling at supersonic speeds; 12.8 times faster than your lawn sprinkler. Our Hydraulic systems operate at up to 3,000 psi. Mobile Hydraulic equipment operates at up to 6,000 psi. Some grease systems operate at up to 10,000 psi. This is about 100 times greater than your water pressure at home. A pinhole leak in a pressurized hydraulic or grease line will discharge fluid at about 400 miles per hour.

7. Fluid Power Safety What are some of the areas where we need to be aware of the Safety Hazards related to Fluid Power? Fluid Injection Stored Energy High Velocity Particles Whipping Hoses Hose / Fitting Failure Fire Toxic Fluids Lock out / Tag Out Apathy Familiarity Ignorance

8. Hose and Fittings / Conductors and Connectors An injury occurred to an EMT responding to an accident where he was required to use the “Jaws of Life”. He was wearing leather gloves and had been trained on the use of the equipment. Part of his training was that he was supposed to hold the high pressure hose over his shoulder and guide it with his left hand while he attempted to use the device. The system is very compact and uses a 10,000 psi supply pressure. While dragging the hose end over his shoulder, he felt a sharp sting in his left hand. The pain was momentary and he tried to continue working but then saw the tear in the leather glove. A fitting on the hose had begun to separate and caused a fine spray to escape from the hose. It sliced open his glove and nearly cut off his hand. Improper installation of the hose and fitting nearly cost him his life. The Fluid injection injury turned out to be very serious. A major cause of Fluid Power accidents or near accidents are caused by the improper assembly of conductors and connectors. One report stated that 90% of the lawsuits against Parker where determined to be the result of improper application and/or assembly of conductors and connectors.

9. There is a disturbing story of a mining accident where the investigation showed that the problem had occurred because of an improperly assembled hydraulic hose. To prevent future accidents, the report stated that there was no way to be certain that anyone assembling the hoses and fittings was competent, and so preventative measures were put in place to allow for the failure. As of this presentation, there are very few people assembling hoses and fittings that are internationally certified to do so. This is true for both suppliers and consumers of Fluid Power equipment. The fact is that Certification exists and it is possible to be certain that those who assemble hoses and fittings are properly trained and Certified. Do not put your people or your customers at risk. Be certain that everyone who assembles hoses and fittings has the proper certification from the International Fluid Power Society. For more information go to: http://www.ifps.org/DocumentFiles/IFPS-CCbrochure.pdf

10. High Pressure Injection Injuries While all evidence indicates that high-pressure injection injuries are few and far between, there is certainly no reason to believe that the evidence accurately reflects the situation. According to an extensive study conducted by the FPSI, over 99% of the people who service, repair, and troubleshoot hydraulic systems have been subjected to the exact dynamics that trigger a high-pressure injection injury. However, the “liquid bullet” either missed or deflected off its target. In other words, if “hydraulics” was a recognized occupational hazard, and thus fell into a category for near miss reporting, the statistics on high-pressure injection injuries might differ substantially from current data. In short, with respect to hydraulic “accidents,” if a person does not suffer a lost-time injury, that person simply did not have an accident!

11. Ignorance and Oversight – the Ingredients for a High-Pressure Injection Injury– The potential for high-pressure injection injuries to occur is elevated due to three factors: 1) The vast majority of people who work on and around hydraulic systems are not properly trained in hydraulics to avoid the hazard. 2) Less than 1% of hydraulic systems can be safely de-energized after lockout, which leaves people susceptible to injection injuries while performing minor service and repair tasks. 3) A high percentage of systems that are supposed to be “self de-energizing,” have no way of verifying when they have been de-energized.

12. A Perspective on High-Pressure Injection Injuries It is reported that 1 in 600 injuries treated in emergency facilities is caused by high-pressure injection. Not all are associated with hydraulic systems. In one study of 25 patients that were injected, 8 were injected with hydraulic fluid, and 5 were injected with grease. The other commonly injected materials are paint and paint thinners. In a separate 10-year review of high-pressure injection injuries to the hand, which studied 28 cases, 17 of the victims were injected with hydraulic fluid. However, every person who works on and around hydraulic systems or operates a grease gun is susceptible to this type of injury. Accordingly, they should be acutely aware of the physics associated with hydraulics so they know what set of conditions must exist for this type of injury to occur. It is important to avoid an injection injury. However, it is equally as important to know precisely what to do if one gets injected. Most doctors agree that high-pressure injection injuries should be considered a potential surgical emergency. The reason why a person may overlook the gravity of this type of injury is that, due to the innocuous appearance of the wound, it may hide the severity of the injury.

13. Management of a High-Pressure Injection Injury This is a picture of an injection injury. As you can see, it has the appearance of a minor superficial wound, and that’s why its severity is oftentimes undermined. According to most doctors, surgical exploration should be the benchmark of management for an injection injury. Usually, a hand-surgeon will plan surgical incisions that will allow proximal (situated toward the point of origin or attachment of the bone), and distal (situated away from the point of origin or attachment of the bone) exploration.

14. The entry wound should be excised and all areas permeated by the injected materials must be exposed to decompress the affected tissue and perform extensive exploration. Don’t Overlook the Collateral Hazards Associated with Oil Escaping to Atmosphere -Oil escaping to atmosphere presents a considerable burning hazard. In addition, it can cause severe eye injury or total eye loss.

15. Case Study A 33-year-old, right-handed industrial painter injected an amount of oil-based paint, with his paint gun, in his left index finger by accident. He was immediately referred to a specialized hand center. The composition of the paint was analyzed to value the risk of a systemic intoxication. Also a tetanus prophylaxis was given in the emergency department. Clinical examination showed only a small entry port at the palmar MP level of the index finger (MCP II) (Fig. 1a).

16. A decreased capillary refill and hypersensibility of the hand was observed. On the X-ray of the left hand a large amount of radio dense material on the dorsal side from the MCP II joint to the DIP II joint and from the entry port until the carpal tunnel level, was present (Fig. 1b, c).

17. It was decided that surgical exploration under tourniquet and general anesthesia would be necessary. A palmar incision was made from the PIP joint, along the skin fold of the thenar muscle. Subsequently, the paint was removed and a debridement of all the ischemic tissue was performed, followed by a complete synovectomy and microsurgical neurolysis and arteriolysis of the second finger and open carpal tunnel release (Fig. 1d–f).

18. By means of a second straight dorsal approach starting from P1 and going up to the MP level, the paint around the extensor tendons of digit II was removed (Fig. 1g, h). A suction drain was placed before closing the wound.

19. The point of this display is to show that what appeared to be a relatively superficial wound; Turned out to be this:

20. To avoid this type of injury there are a few basic rules we MUST follow: 1. NEVER "crack" a hydraulic connector to search for pressure, flow, or, to de-energize a hydraulic system. 2. NEVER "test" a hydraulic system or component to atmosphere, partially open a transmission line, or completely vent a transmission line to atmosphere! 3. NEVER air-bleed a hydraulic component or system to atmosphere - "crack" a connector! 4. Specify a mechanism on ALL hydraulic systems that will allow us to de-energize a hydraulic system, verify that the system is de-energized, and air-purge a hydraulic component or system, without discharging oil to atmosphere.

21. The following slide shows a medical protocol for handling High Pressure Injection Injuries. It was developed by an Australian Hospital and has been adopted by emergency medical facilities in the US.

22. Location of Accident High Pressure Injection Injury Keep Warm Identify the Fluid Immediate Transport to Hospital Tetanus Prophylaxis A B Prophylaxis Emergency Room Fluid Characteristics Water, Air, Veterinary Vaccine Grease, Oil Paint Solvents Clinical OK Function / Rubor / Calor /Dolor/ Vascularization Excluding General Intoxication Observation and Conservative Treatment Operating Room Surgical Emergency Adequate Debridement Ev. Second look within 24 hours Palmer Splint in intrinsic plus position: 5 days Passive Mobilization: 5 days Post-Operative Flexion/Extension Splint Intensive Physiotherapy Active en Passive Mobilization 6-12 Months Strength Exercises http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=2291478