Hand crush injury on a wind turbine service lift, landing gate guarding and external control positioning

What happened

In May 2024 the UK health and safety regulator issued an industry safety bulletin (reference ED01-2024) following an incident in which a wind turbine service technician suffered serious hand injuries during maintenance work. Service lifts inside turbine towers are used routinely to move personnel and equipment between the tower base and the nacelle. According to the bulletin, the technician was able to place a hand into an aperture in the lift structure while sending the lift down using external controls of a one touch to operate type.

The controls were positioned on moving parts of the lift, and the design of the landing gates and associated guarding did not prevent access to the moving lift car. The lift car crushed the hand against the gate. The regulator responded by issuing a bulletin to duty holders across the wind sector, onshore and offshore, directing them to check the design of gates, guarding and external control positions on service lifts in use.

Contributing factors

The safety bulletin identified the underlying issue as an absence of defined industry standards for the safe design of service lifts within wind turbines, which had resulted in discrepancies in the application of safeguards by designers and manufacturers. The bulletin stated that: (1) the design of base and upper level landing gates and associated guarding did not prevent access to the moving lift car; (2) the positioning of one touch to operate external controls on moving parts of the lift created a foreseeable situation in which a person could reach into a hazardous area while operating the lift; (3) there was no interlock or other safeguard preventing contact between the moving structure and the operator at that position. The bulletin noted that a standard for lifting appliances in wind turbines, BS EN 81-44, was in preparation at the time and was intended to set the benchmark for the safe design of such lifts.

Lessons learned

1. Check landing gate guarding and external control positions on all service lifts to prevent reach into moving parts.
2. Reposition one-touch external controls away from moving lift parts or add interlocks.
3. Assess each service lift individually where no dedicated design standard applies.

More lessons on design, standards and commissioning, from every incident on the register.

Not yet known

• Turbine model and age
• Cost of damage and downtime
• Exact location of the wind turbine

This entry is updated when these are reported. Get an alert for the next one like it.

Standards referenced

BS EN 81-44

Source

hse.gov.uk