Brad Clayton Posted June 25, 2011 Share Posted June 25, 2011 I ran across something today that make me stop and think how dangerous are jobs really are and how much we take for granted our safety. This is a caution for anyone who may be working under the hood of a vehicle equipped with OTIS (one touch integrated start). I was working on a 2011 Super-Duty and I needed to turn the key to run to prime the fuel system. I was not seated in the vehicle facing the steering wheel but I was standing outside the truck and leaning in to reach the key. It was a very awkward angle and when I turned the key to the run position, I barely turned it a bit more and the starter engaged. Before I knew what was happening, I had already backed out of the vehicle and had to scramble to get back to the key, the engine had spun over a good 4 to 5 times. I mention this because there are always times when we are under the hood and we need someone to turn the key to run for us but not start the vehicle. With the above incident, things would have been very bad for anyone who may have been in a compromised position under the hood. Then there is always the chance that the person enlisted to help may just be an average Joe that is not privy to what can happen when the key is turned aggressively and or with awkward body positioning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Browning Posted June 25, 2011 Share Posted June 25, 2011 This is the primary reason we are required at my company to remove the keys from the ignition and hang them on the windshield with a lock out tag while working on vehicles. This all thanks to two incidents at our Lexus dealer... something about missing fingers and OSHA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Warman Posted June 25, 2011 Share Posted June 25, 2011 In all honesty, I don't think our jobs are any more dangerous than we choose to make them. If we do things in a hap-hazard manner, we will reap the benefits of our haste and/or oversight. Something that kinda "brings this home" is our recent misfortune. Those that lost houses in the disaster want to rebuild NOW!. They see the powers that be as dragging ther heals. Those same powers that be are only trying to make sure that we do this only ONCE!! When I perform an action.... any action... be it mundane or astounding... before I commit that act - perform that action - I need to consider any and all reactions.... Will it hurt me? Will it burst into flames? Will it fry a $65,000,000 turbo encabulator? Flat rate is that condition where the false promise of a few saved seconds outweighs the knowledge that the shortcut will keep you busy for a long, long time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Clayton Posted June 25, 2011 Author Share Posted June 25, 2011 Quote: we are required at my company to remove the keys from the ignition and hang them on the windshield with a lock out tag while working on vehicles I'm glad I don't work for your company. I am a transmission guy and every car that is in my bay is in neutral. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Clayton Posted June 25, 2011 Author Share Posted June 25, 2011 Quote: In all honesty, I don't think our jobs are any more dangerous than we choose to make them. It's not me so much that I have to worry about, it's the guy beside me doing something stupid that usually gets you hurt. I know quite a few people who have been mowed down in a shops. It drives me bat shit to see an employee bring their small children into the shop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Browning Posted June 25, 2011 Share Posted June 25, 2011 Quote: we are required at my company to remove the keys from the ignition and hang them on the windshield with a lock out tag while working on vehicles I'm glad I don't work for your company. I am a transmission guy and every car that is in my bay is in neutral. Obviously there are situations where they keys need to be in the ignition like front end work that requires the steering to be unlocked, driveability or electrical diagnosis and such. But, if you are disassembling the engine or something else the keys had better be on the windshield. The lock-out tag must always be present. My dealer has the distinct honor of being the ONLY dealer group in the great state of New Jersey that is required by OSHA to have to do this. It is due to the repeated accidents as stated above. This is not uncommon for utility and state fleets however. I also understand that Oregon(?) requires this in all repair facilities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregH Posted June 25, 2011 Share Posted June 25, 2011 Just yesterday I was walking into the service drive and saw one of our service writers with a handful of rags on the radiator cap of an e-150, with steam billowing out around him and a look of pain on his face. Turns out he tried to remove the radiator cap on an overheating engine, turned it slightly too far and didn't have enough rags. He was hesitant to just back up from the damn thing, and was trying to get the cap back on. I reached over the wall and grabbed a bundle of rags to assist him. I finally got him to get his hand out and let the coolant go. The cap hung on the edge of the lock, and hissed and steamed menacingly. After a mere 30 seconds, he asked me if he could knock the cap off with a broomhandle. Ha! No! Told him he needed to walk away for at least 10 minutes to let it release pressure, and asked him why the fuck was he removing the cap on an obviously overheated engine in the service drive of all places?! Years ago I had a coworker that got hot coolant to the face when a hose popped on an LS. It wasn't pretty. The vehicle he was working on was overheated, and with his face too close to the engine, poked at one of the upper hoses with the tip of a screwdriver to gauge the pressure. Said he didn't want to risk burning his hand. The hose must have been right on the edge of rupturing when he poked it. He was back at work a few weeks later, and is pretty scarred up... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mchan68 Posted June 26, 2011 Share Posted June 26, 2011 It's not me so much that I have to worry about, it's the guy beside me doing something stupid that usually gets you hurt. I know quite a few people who have been mowed down in a shops. It drives me bat shit to see an employee bring their small children into the shop.Brad, I couldn't agree more with the above statements, and I thank you IMMENSELY for starting this thread. You know, I never did actually think too much of the OTIS that these 2011 trucks are equipped with, seeing as how I haven't had the pleasure (or should I make that DISpleasure?) of "getting inside" one of these beasts, and hopefully never have to. But regarding the need to prime the fuel system prior to intial startup on these 6.4/6.7 engines, may I make a suggestion? Snip off a two-wire pigtail for the fuel pump and join an alligator clip on the other end that you can connect to any battery. This is the way I prime the fuel system after changing a set of filters on a 6.4L. I also use it to pump fuel out of gassed up trucks (rather than using IDS to active command the pump ON). Yes, I know I consider myself to be far from perfect or even GOOD at what I do, but I can damn well tell you that I'm not a hack or bonehead either. There was one incident a couple years back, when a fellow tech was attempting to hammer a seized lower ball joint out of an Expedition in the bay across. Well, after hearing too many unsuccessful BANGS, another "technician" came to assist (this is the same "tech" that thinks I'm a !?@#%! for lifting cabs on trucks for engine repairs). He comes along with the flame wrench to heat up the area around the ball joint (because the head of it had already mushroomed from repeated hits), which is also something I am uncomfortable with on front end parts. He's doing this, unbeknowest in the bay directly beside was a fuel tank taken down while one of our tune-down techs was in the proccess of replacing a fuel pump on a Windstar. Use your imagination to figure out what happened next. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mbl35 Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 Speaking of employees brining small children in the shop. I worked at this one ford dealer with a stuck on stupid service manager. He let his 2 year old daughter wander around the shop. I was driving an f-550 flatbed from the rear yard through the shop to go out on a test drive. Good thing my instincts kicked in knowing that he was a moron-i drove it 2mph(knowing his kids were in the building) and like 15 feet ahead his kid wanders across the shop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Warman Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 Mike.. I am near flabbergasted... Tech A has been beating on a tapered joint in such a manner as to mushroom the end... ummmmmm , I'm glad he works there and not here. Tech B is going to use heat on front end parts... I don't care if there is a gas tank close by or not... heat is not something I enjoy around steering parts... How, in the name of God, did either one of these gentlemen make it through apprenticeship training? This is the standard by which we shall be judged... and this instance is screaming "these guys are fucking idiots". I would endeavour to distance myself from this kind of lunacy.... honest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Warman Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 Speaking of employees brining small children in the shop. Not sure about small children, but the last time I smoked a turkey, brining it made all the difference in the world for texture and flavour... I'm sorry, I could not resist.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Clayton Posted June 27, 2011 Author Share Posted June 27, 2011 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrbudge Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 Mike.. I am near flabbergasted... Tech A has been beating on a tapered joint in such a manner as to mushroom the end... ummmmmm , I'm glad he works there and not here. Tech B is going to use heat on front end parts... I don't care if there is a gas tank close by or not... heat is not something I enjoy around steering parts... How, in the name of God, did either one of these gentlemen make it through apprenticeship training? This is the standard by which we shall be judged... and this instance is screaming "these guys are fucking idiots". I would endeavour to distance myself from this kind of lunacy.... honest. Sadly, it seems anyone can be a mechanic (note-not technician). The entrance requirements are not that tough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mchan68 Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 Mike.. I am near flabbergasted...You and me both. Originally Posted By: Jim Warman Tech A has been beating on a tapered joint in such a manner as to mushroom the end... ummmmmm , I'm glad he works there and not here. Tech B is going to use heat on front end parts... I don't care if there is a gas tank close by or not... heat is not something I enjoy around steering parts... That was my point exactly. There is this tool that exists that is called a ball joint/u-joint press. But I guess "Tech A" had never clued into that, or figured that hammering it out would be quicker, who knows? "Tech B" was a bit of a stoner (who smokes joints during breaks, big surprise eh?) and thought he was better and more efficient than everyone else in the shop (me included). He was the same "tech" I was referring to, who long blocked an '04 F-150, taking about a week and a half to complete WITH THE CAB ON (hey, I never said it was IMPOSSIBLE). By the time the job was done, the entire wiring harness business on the passenger side of the engine compartment had just become a spaghetti of wiring (which he needed to ask ME where everything went), not to mention the torn up to ratshit insulation under the cowl. Originally Posted By: Jim Warman How, in the name of God, did either one of these gentlemen make it through apprenticeship training? You're asking me? Originally Posted By: Jim Warman This is the standard by which we shall be judged... and this instance is screaming "these guys are fucking idiots". I would endeavour to distance myself from this kind of lunacy.... honest. I have actually thought of that numerous times Jim, believe me. I'm just not one of those kind of guys that likes to move around a lot. And with all the local area dealers that have either been closing or becoming a revolving door (like the dealer my SM has flocked to as of this morning), it doesn't appear like I have too many options. I will say one thing though. Even though we may agree or disagree on many points Jim, it does make me feel pretty good that you understand my posts pretty clearly, judging by your responses to them. And I do still hold a high degree of respect for you, even though we will likely never be able to meet in person. At least it's good to know that I read, speak and write/type ENGLISH pretty well (not "Ch-Engrish" ), as likely most of you probably would think not, when you see a Chinaman like myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mchan68 Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 Speaking of employees BRINGING small children in the shop. I worked at this one ford dealer with a stuck on stupid service manager. He let his 2 year old daughter wander around the shop. I was driving an f-550 flatbed from the rear yard through the shop to go out on a test drive. Good thing my instincts kicked in knowing that he was a moron-i drove it 2mph(knowing his kids were in the building) and like 15 feet ahead his kid wanders across the shop.And this one makes it up there, with one of my top ten list of pet peeves. It's one thing to have a child who is very quiet and easily entertained with his/her Gameboy or iPod or what have you, whose able to sit still in the very corner, but it is quite another, to have small children that are hyper, run around the shop or won't shut up and keep asking stupid questions. Even more so, the ones that have to touch everything they see, and the wack job parent(s) who refuse to do anything to keep them under control. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Clayton Posted August 24, 2011 Author Share Posted August 24, 2011 Quote: This is the primary reason we are required at my company to remove the keys from the ignition and hang them on the windshield with a lock out tag while working on vehicles I was working on a big ass truck i couldn't lift yesterday (2011). I had to drop the motor oil and all I could think about was some idiot rambling thru the shop and reaching in and turning the key on me while I was underneath on a creeper. That and this diesel fuel in the eyes thing was on my brain. So I decided to go all out [safety wise] and I removed the key from the ignition (equipped with OTIS) and........laid 'em on the floor board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheezit Posted August 29, 2011 Share Posted August 29, 2011 lets see.. heating a ball joint with a torch... I have seen this one before. if you get it hot enugh the gases emitted from the grease will produce enugh pressure to make the ball joint shoot accross the shop. it happened and no not by me. As a matter of practice i got tired of jumping starting cars many years ago from keys being left in the on position. now its just a matter of habbit to remove them and toss em on the floor board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmorris Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 If I absolutely have to leave the key in the run position, I will disconnect the starter wire under the hood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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