Worker injured finger during shackle removal on excavator

What happened?

A worker broke his finger while removing the screw pin on a shackle.
Three workers were loosening the screw pin on a bow shackle that was attached to an excavator. One of them used a pin bar to loosen the screw pin.
The shackle was unsteady, so a second worker came to hold it but was unable to keep pressure on shackle.
A third worker put pressure on the shackle to help steady it but lost his grip, pinching his fingers between shackle and the attach point on the excavator.
Why did it happen?
- Workers’ hands were in the line of fire.
- Workers held shackle to steady.
- Workers rushing and did not take time to reassess hazards.
What did they learn?
- Screw pins should only be tightened to the shoulder of the pin.
- Workers were encouraged to take the time to refine hazard identification, including hand placement.
- Use of stickers to indicate pinch points and use of high-impact gloves.
- Potential for hand injuries discussed during safety and tailgate meetings.
- Employer sent out company wide communication reminding workers and supervisors to take time before each task to identify potential hazards.
Ask yourself or your crew
- How can something like this happen here (e.g. on our site)?
- What safety measures (i.e. procedures, controls/barriers) do we have in place to mitigate the risk?
- How do we know the risk controls/barriers are working?
- What improvements or changes should we make to the procedures, controls/barriers or the way we work?

Published on 17/05/23 587 Views

Three workers were removing a screw pin from a shackle attached to an excavator. During the process, a worker put pressure on the shackle to help steady it but lost his grip, pinching his fingers between shackle and the attach point on the excavator.

Original material courtesy of Energy Safety Canada

Energy Safety Canada