Tag Archives: mechanic

Arlington, VA – Elevator mechanic nearly loses hand after getting caught in traction sheave

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An elevator mechanic in his 60s nearly lost his hand on Wednesday, November 7, 2013, around 9:45 a.m. local time, when his hand became entrapped by a traction sheave while he was working on an elevator at 1300 17th Street North, a high rise office building in the Rosslyn neighborhood of Arlington, Virginia. The victim’s coworkers immediately called for paramedics, who arrived shortly after the coworkers were able to free the victim’s hand. Reports indicate that the victim’s hand was almost entirely severed, however, it was not clear at the time of writing whether doctors would be able to save his hand.

Traction sheaves are essentially the “pulley” through which an elevator’s hoist cables pass over, allowing the hoist motor to move the cab. As a result, the weight on each cable at the sheave is generally equal to the weight of the elevator car, the weight of any load within the car, the counterweight, the hoist cables, and half the weight of the traveling cable beneath the car. As a result, it is easy to understand how the incredible force of a sheave entrapment could result in a partial amputation of a limb. Given the victim’s age, it was likely that he was a seasoned elevator industry veteran, so it is not clear what factors contributed to the accident. Elevator mechanics are trained to understand the various hazards that motor rooms present, however even industry veterans can make mistakes. Working around sheaves is particularly dangerous, and sheaves will often bear orange warning labels indicating the entrapment hazard for this reason. Loose fitting clothing, tools, long hair, and even long facial hair can easily become entrapped when working around a moving traction sheave. Because of the hazards that elevator motor rooms present, the riding public should never attempt to access an elevator machine room or the equipment inside without proper training.

Sources reporting this story include:

Sharjah, UAE – Elevator mechanic dies after cab unexectedly plunges

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Shajo Sh. S., a 33-year-old Indian elevator mechanic working on an elevator in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, died around 1 p.m. local time Saturday, November 2, 2013, after an elevator cab he was working on fell unexpectedly. The victim was apparently performing routine maintenance on an elevator in a residential building in the Al Butaina neighborhood, cleaning the inside of the hoistway doors at each floor. When the elevator cab was around the third floor, it suddenly fell, causing the victim to become pinned between the hoistway wall and the cab.

Early reports indicate that authorities were not notified for at least 40 minutes after the accident occurred. During that time, the victim’s co-workers were apparently attempting to extricate him. By the time authorities arrived, the victim was already deceased. Sharjah Police released a statement urging the immediate reporting of industrial accidents to allow officials to carry out rescue and recovery operations and hopefully prevent future loss of life in similar situations.

This incident marks the third recorded elevator-related fatality this week. Earlier this week, a maintenance worker at a hospital in Decatur, Alabama, was fatally crushed when attempting to repair a freight elevator, and an elevator mechanic in Dallas, Texas, suffered a fatal fall down an open hoistway.

Sources reporting this story include:

Dallas, TX – Elevator technician dies after fatal fall into open hoistway

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A 45-year-old elevator mechanic from Mesquite, Texas, died after falling approximately 20-feet into an open hoistway at the parking garage of 1515 Elm Street, Dallas, Texas, around 8 p.m. Friday, November 1, 2013. The elevator technician, whose name was not yet released by authorities, was apparently servicing equipment in a mechanical room adjacent to the open shaft when he fell. The Dallas Fire Department urban search and rescue team was dispatched to recover the victim, who was declared dead on arrival by the responding paramedics. A spokesperson for the Dallas Police Department said they did not know what caused him to fall, but indicated that it appeared to be an accident, and that Dallas homicide detectives and OSHA were investigating.

Santa Clara, CA – Seasoned elevator mechanic struck, killed by counterweight at Levi’s Stadium

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On Tuesday, June 11, 2013, around 6:45 a.m., seasoned elevator mechanic Donald White, 63, a 43-year industry veteran, was struck and killed by a counterweight while working on a ladder in an elevator pit. The elevator was being constructed by Schindler at the San Francisco 49ers’ new stadium, Levi’s Stadium, a $1.3 billion project expected to be completed in 2014. Cal/OSHA is investigating the accident and expects to have a completed report in approximately six months. It was not immediately clear what caused the counterweight to move while Mr. White was in the pit. This is the first major incident reported so far during the stadium’s construction.

Elevator accidents involving counterweights generally involve elevator personnel, as in this case, although we have documented at least two other recent cases involving non-elevator personnel that entered the elevator pit to clean the pit and to retrieve dropped keys. Besides counterweight collisions in the pit, elevator mechanics and inspectors can be struck by the counterweight as the car and the counterweight pass each other halfway up the hoistway. Working with a ladder in a pit is especially dangerous as it will reduce or eliminate available refuge space while also potentially introducing a foreign object into that space.

Sources reporting this incident include:

Chester, PA – Elevator mechanic struck, killed by falling dumbwaiter at Harrah’s Philadelphia

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According to ABC 6 Action News, an elevator mechanic working on a dumbwaiter at Harrah’s Philadelphia in Chester, Pennsylvania, was killed when the dumbwaiter unexpectedly fell on top of him. The accident occurred around 4 p.m., Saturday, December 29, 2012. Police confirmed that they recovered the man’s body from the dumbwaiter shaft, but did not release the victim’s identity. Read the full story by ABC 6 Action News, published December 30, 2012, and watch the video below.

Details regarding the circumstances of the accident were limited. The Philadelphia Inquirer later reported on December 31, 2012, that the 52 year-old victim from Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, was a sub-contractor, not a casino employee. The incident dumbwaiter was used to deliver food to restaurants within the casino. They also noted that Chester officials and OSHA were still investigating the incident.

Generally, dumbwaiters are required to have safety systems that are comparable to the safety devices required on passenger elevators.

Sabhan, Kuwait – Elevator mechanic killed, another injured; crushed by falling car

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According to the Kuwait Times, an elevator accident left one elevator mechanic dead and another seriously injured in the Sabhan neighborhood of Kuwait. Although details of the circumstances are scant, it appears that both mechanics were working in the hoistway pit of an interior ministry building at the time the accident occurred. The elevator unexpectedly descended, crushing the two men, killing one instantly. Read the full story by the Kuwait Times, published December 27, 2012.

In the United States, elevators have long been required to have stop switches in the pit to prevent unexpected movement of the car when working in the pit. It is standard procedure to ensure that the elevator is under control before entering the pit or accessing the car top. Crushing accidents involving the pit often involve improperly trained personnel accessing the pit, for example to retrieve dropped keys. However it is critical that only properly trained elevator personnel enter the pit, to prevent this type of incident. It is not clear whether or not the elevator in this incident was equipped with a stop switch in the pit, or whether the mechanics had followed procedures to gain control of the elevator before entering the pit. We will update this story if more details emerge.

Bronx, NY – Man moving mattress falls down freight elevator shaft

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According to ABC 7 Eyewitness News New York, Joseph Ryan, a 35 year-old man died around 11 p.m. Monday after plunging two stories down a freight elevator shaft in an apartment building located on the Grand Concourse in the Bronx. The man was moving into a new apartment and was apparently walking backwards and carrying a mattress at the lobby level when the incident occurred. The man fell down to the basement level and suffered injuries that he succumbed to after being transported to nearby St. Barnabas Hospital. Early accounts of the accident described that the door was open but the elevator was not at the floor at the time the incident occurred. Tenants in the building noted that the freight elevator was shut down every night and that only building maintenance workers and security guards had access to the elevator.

Interestingly, the article noted that although the victim was not working at the time, he worked for a private elevator contractor during the day. The New York City Department of Buildings investigated the accident and determined that the victim had apparently used a drop key to open the hoistway door and gain access to the elevator for at least one prior trip on the elevator. The Department of Buildings also issued a violation for an apparently malfunctioning mechanical door interlock on the incident elevator. The Eyewitness News report also noted that the Department of Buildings had received a number of tenant complaints about the elevators prior to the incident including one that noted “no one uses [the elevator because] they are afraid.”

Read the full story by ABC 7 New York, published March 2, 2010, or watch the videos below.