Saturday, Nov 03, 2007 at 00:26
A body
shop technician was fatally injured by the split side ring of a multi-piece tire rim that
suddenly released. The victim had been rotating the two front tires on a 1995 bus brought in for front end alignment. Both
wheels were mounted on a five-spoke hub. The front right wheel had been removed and set aside, and the employee was
taking off the front left wheel. Four of the five rim clamps, studs and nuts had been removed when the side ring flew off,
striking the employee in the head and chest. The victim was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
A multi-piece wheel has two or more parts. The side
ring holds the tire and other components on the rim wheel
by interlocking the components when the tire is inflated.
There are several variations
of a multi-piece rim, including
two-piece and three-piece
assemblies. The rim pictured
below is a tube-type demountable
rim assembly with a split
side ring typical of two-piece
assemblies. The parts are designed to allow the
split ring to fit snugly into the gutter on the rim
and hold the tire on the wheel when the tire is
inflated.
The split side ring markings were illegible because the ring had been painted over with black
paint four months earlier. When the paint was scraped off, the split side ring markings showed the
ring was mismatched with the rim base and had been damaged when it was mounted previously
or had been bent during the accident.
The victim had been disassembling the
wheel thinking that it had been put together according to the manufacturer’s
specifications. The employee had no reason to believe the
mismatched split side ring and the rim base were not properly seated.
The tire was properly inflated and had been driven for about four
months before the incident.
Conclusion:
Mismatched multi-piece wheel components led to the catastrophic
accident. OSHA standards clearly state that multi-piece components
should not be interchanged except according to appropriate charts and
the applicable rim manual. Other findings include:
The split side ring was not completely seated and locked.
Rim gutters and ring must be free of any surface rust that
could obstruct seating of the ring.
AnswerID:
269816
Follow Up By: Ray - Saturday, Nov 03, 2007 at 08:17
Saturday, Nov 03, 2007 at 08:17
"tire" do we have tires in Australia?
FollowupID:
532721
Follow Up By: QLD Kev - Saturday, Nov 03, 2007 at 09:07
Saturday, Nov 03, 2007 at 09:07
It was probably a Coopers LOL
Kev
| Russell Coight:
He was presented with a difficult decision: push on into the stretching deserts, or return home to his wife.Lifetime Member My Profile My Blog Send Message |
FollowupID:
532731