Elf & Safety - (A short guide to surviving beyond the winter in the workshop) previously published in the December 2008 Club Magazine (with kind permission of Geoffrey Laycock)
At the end of the 2007 season, several HSCC members were injured whilst working on their cars. Who knows how many were injured during the season repairing or improving their pride and joy that we don’t know about? The article is meant to suggest just a few areas to think about if you want to be a little safer in your workshop, at the circuit and in your car. It isn’t complete and it is only my opinion (based on too long as a safety consultant) and regarding the ‘Blue Book’ where that is relevant, a couple or so examples are included to help. We really want you back in 2009 in roughly the same condition you ended 2008.
A few basics? - Do you ever do the following? Use a file with no handle (can result in damage to nerves and paralysis of the hand), use electrical equipment with damaged cables, plugs or casings, (err dead or on fire) work under a vehicle no matter how small it is, without using solid supports in addition to a jack (and running up a car to test or warm transmission without solid support at a circuit, plus physical barriers to prevent contact with rotating wheels is a serious no-no, Blue Book Section C(c)114), any of the things in the next bit. If you do I suggest the answer is best not to. I’ve had the pleasure of investigating possibly every type of accident from the above, including a professional mechanic killed when a vehicle being run up to test ran over him. Not a good day. And please always think about others around you who might be affected when you are working. I met a 7 year old who had stood and watched his dad doing electric arc welding, that kid suffered very badly for several weeks and the damage to his eyes could have been permanent.
Protective Equipment – If you are the driver you have spent hundreds, even thousands of pounds on your kit to protect you when driving (maybe not all from choice?) When working in the workshop there are a few things you should think about.
Eyes, you need them rather a lot to race so do you wear eye protection when doing the following? Any drilling, using a metal chisel with a hammer!, any air tool, angle grinder, power file, abrasive discs, adding a magic potion to your fuel? If you are not wearing eye protection any of those could result in serious eye damage (by the way, to remove metal fragments from inside the eyeball a VERY large electro-magnet is used, and it doesn’t always want to come out the way it went in!). Any chisel, punch or other metal item hit with a hammer develops a ‘mushroom’ head. Bits flying off this cause major eye injury if you aren’t having a lucky day (good for nice hand injuries also) so dress them off on a bench grinder as soon as they start to form.
Ears, If you run a car silenced to 108dB as per the ‘Blue Book’ being near the exhaust for just over a minute gives you the equivalent noise exposure to 8 hours at the legal limit at work. The simple way to explain this – you are losing your hearing, bit by bit, every time you do it. Please buy some good quality ear defenders and think about your pit crew! By the way, noise restrictions are only going to get worse, have you checked the packing in your silencer yet? (see your Club series Regulations)
Breathing, if you are fitting new bodywork and shaping glass fibre or carbon fibre, you really want a good filter respirator suitable for dust protection. If working with paint then it’s going to be a different respirator and space is too short to give all the details. The important action is thinking about what you are doing then buying/using it. Chemical induced asthma can be seriously disabling and the next medical is only a cheque away.
Exhaust gasses – simple, don’t breath them, even more important if you happen to have an ‘enhanced’ fuel. Either do engine running in the open or with mechanical ventilation. Some people think unleaded fuel exhaust can’t kill you – fancy a bet?
Hands, so easy to forget and wash once we finish working. Buy some good quality disposable gloves, look for ones that are not affected by solvents. Use them when working on oily components, brake and clutch systems. You’ll be amazed how quickly you forget you are wearing them. Mechanix (or similar) gloves are really good for general work on the car.
Fire – Again, we spend possibly huge amounts on extinguisher system in cars even if some don’t really want to. Have you a fire extinguisher in your workshop? If you have the car then it has a fuel tank(s) and pump/hoses. If you do any drilling, grinding welding, brazing, there is a fire risk and if you don’t have a suitable portable fire extinguisher or two, you may have to watch your pride and joy destroy itself. Many people are probably thinking, “I’m not that stupid”, well I investigated the death of a fully trained fire fighter after he set fire to his car! If you have a welding set does it have hoses without cracks in them and fitted flashback arrestors? And if you are wondering what those are I’m wondering why you may be using the kit! I would suggest having a minimum of a 9 litre foam extinguisher near the door of your workshop and it’s generally a good idea to read the instructions before you need it. Cost of car –v- cost of extinguisher?
Chemicals – simple rules can make a huge difference. Read the data sheet/labels. Use eye, hand and breathing protection as necessary. Wash you hands before using the toilet or eating. Watch out for leaking containers. Don’t have liquids in unlabelled containers. Don’t allow clothing contaminated with oil or brake fluid to remain in contact with the skin. If you really want persuading, as an example repeated exposure of the ‘nether regions’ to mineral oils can result in your important bits being chopped off in a bid to save you from scrotal cancer, ouch. Be very careful with fuel additives, they are nasty.
Car safety – Yes the ‘Blue Book’ has plenty to say about this. I’m still amazed though by people turning up at, for instance, Spa with out-of-date harness or fire extinguisher. January is the time to check all items that have a ‘life’ and then act on it. My all time favourite thing to hate about cars prepared by other people is – tie wraps. Is there any one of you who have not cut yourself on the cut-off end of one? All it needs is to keep a pair of good quality side-cutters only for use on tie-wraps and make sure you cut off the excess flush with the ‘catch’. Simple, and removes any risk of cuts, scratches, swearing. While you are thinking about tie-wrap ends, also consider screws and bolts projecting anywhere in the cockpit. They can be a good source of injuries in a relatively minor incident and if caught on clothing may slow your exit. (Remember you should be able to get out in 5 seconds, Section C(b) 9!)
Head restraints are sadly lacking on many cars. Injury in vehicle impact is one of my areas of interest and I would strongly recommend thinking about what would happen to you/your head in a rearward impact, and in a frontal one when you ‘rebound’. With many older cars there can be a chassis member in almost the perfect place to act as a fulcrum in conjunction with your helmet. Serious cervical spine injury coming up or there may be a tube which is hit by your helmet and you still receive a skull injury, even a depressed fracture, due to the tiny surface area/ massive energy input. Please think about a restraint (minimum area 10 x 10cm, within 5cm of helmet, Section C(c) 51 and 103 and make it level with the bumpy bits on the back of your head).
Fire extinguisher mountings – I’ve seen some amazing ones including on my car as returned from France; the two bottle restraint straps were held by one pop rivet each into a light gauge aluminium plate pop riveted onto chassis tubes. One decent impact and it would have disappeared into the distance. I’ve seen one car having had a side impact where the bottle moved sideways because it didn’t have the foam strips on the straps, they are to help stop this, not to protect the bottle appearance. And the location could just be important? On the gearbox may be good until you hit the barrier backwards, and as for the car with the bottle in front of the radiator! While I mention mountings – harness bolts and mounting eyes – through aluminium sheet doesn’t work!
Which brings us to Batteries – some cars have them held in with a piece of elastic yet they weigh many kilograms. In an accident they can become missiles, often between your legs, over to your imagination thanks. A solid, metal securing method should be looked at long and hard.
Fortunately HSCC racing is pretty well behaved and serious racing injuries are still rare. It’s easy to think it won’t happen so I hope the above may add a little to your thoughts about how you work and whether the car needs another look. Have a good Christmas and see you at Donington!
Geoffrey began life as a Her Majesties Inspector of Factories, working for the Health and Safety Executive for over nine years (he says he has had a personality transplant since). He has worked full time in health and safety, and also ergonomics design, for over 32 years but still insists he is only 39 years old despite having articles and books published since the early 90s. He has been safety consultant to a F1 team, AUDI Sport and a major motorcycle race team. He is willing to provide advice to Club members if they have any questions about safety whilst working on their car. In 2009 he should finally be running the 1968 ex-Tony Lanfranchi Merlyn MK14 in CRC. www.otterconsultancy.co.uk