Old foreman told me to stop climbing the table on a big part

Back in '98 my first foreman saw me standing on a 4-foot aluminum block to reach the spindle. He said get down or get fired. I thought he was being dramatic. Two weeks later a guy in the next shop did the same thing and the part tipped, crushed his foot. He was out for 6 months. I never climbed on a fixture again after that. Any of you guys have a close call like that early on?

3 comments

3 Comments

kimblack1d ago

Wait, @finley_smith, six months? That's crazy. How does someone even come back from that kind of injury?

finley_smith1d ago

Six months off with a crushed foot? Jesus, that's brutal.

david_palmer1d ago

Man nobody ever talks about the real cost of those kinds of mistakes. Six months off means he probably lost his job too. Most shops won't hold a spot that long for a guy with a crushed foot. And even if he came back, he probably couldn't do the same work again. I've seen guys with busted hands go to inspection or shipping after something like that. But the thing that gets me is how fast the rest of the shop forgets. You step on a loader or a table and nobody says anything until somebody gets hurt. Then it's all safety meetings for a week until the next job comes in. The real lesson isn't just don't climb on parts. It's that nobody is going to look out for you but you.