ANNISTON ARMY DEPOT, Ala. -- Each year, hundreds of accidents occur at Anniston Army Depot and the Safety Office views each incident as an opportunity to change a hazardous situation, creating a safer working environment for everyone.
Often, a little cleaning and organizing is all that is needed to ensure a work area is safe for employees, but occasionally, the Safety Office has to put warnings in place or make more drastic changes to ensure employee safety.
"The majority of our corrective actions are fairly easy and quick," said Harold Ciancio, a depot safety and occupational health specialist who recently investigated an accident where warning labels are now needed.
A moment was all it took for a mishap to result in an accident that sent John Patterson, an engineering technician for the Directorate of Risk Management and lead person for the depot's hazardous waste facility, to the hospital.
"It happened so fast," said Patterson. "All I can say is that it was a freak accident."
At 8 a.m. on the morning of July 18, Patterson climbed into an electric forklift, something he had done many times before.
This time, however, he used the seat to lever himself into the vehicle and, as he sat down, the seat came down on his finger, pinching it. The seat for this particular type of forklift is hinged to allow access to a battery as well as to activate a switch ensuring someone is in the driver's seat before the vehicle can be cranked, creating a pinch point.
"My finger was caught where the slide is on the seat and it created a shear," said Patterson. "It ripped the skin off the end of my finger."
Fortunately for Patterson, the accident didn't injure the bone of his finger and a co-worker was close by and able to immediately get medical attention.
That co-worker, Tony Carroll, returned to the scene of the accident after Patterson was safely transported to the dispensary to retrieve Patterson's fingertip. He and Randy Bright, DRK's chief for the Environmental Compliance Division, then took the tip to Northeast Alabama Regional Medical Center where it was sewn onto the finger as a skin graft.
Patterson said his doctor only gave the graft a 25 percent chance of taking, but said it should protect the wound as new skin grows.
"I probably lost two-thirds of my fingernail," said Patterson. "The doctor said I would only have a little bit of my fingernail left when it's all done."
Depot Safety Officer Sue Turton said warning labels will be placed on all electric forklifts with hinged seats, warning operators of the pinch point beneath the seat as they are brought in for preventative maintenance.
"The sole reason Safety investigates accident is to determine causes and contributing factors and to determine if there is anything that can be done to prevent future accidents," said Turton.
On the depot, there are three categories of accidents " those only requiring first aid, those that are Occupational Safety and Health Association recordable and those that result in lost time. All three categories have been on a decline since 2005, according to Turton.
She said accidents only requiring first aid and near misses are often the most important incidents to report, since early intervention can prevent a serious accident later.
In order to encourage reporting of these incidents, first aid kits are not allowed in the shops. So, even to receive a bandage for a cut, a report has to be made on the accident.
The ultimate goal is to reduce lost time accidents by five percent each year. This year, the depot is well on its way to achieving that goal. In fiscal year 2010, there were 70 recordable lost time accidents for an OSHA recordable incident rate of 1.64. So far, in FY11, there have been 33 recordable lost time accidents for an incident rate of 1.06.
"Part of the reason for our lower accident rate is that the depot's employees are really good about reporting near misses and small accidents," said Turton.
To report accidents and near misses, contact the Safety Office at Ext. 7541.
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