Here’s What Happened:

A mechanic was draining oil from this large gear box. The oil was draining out very slowly, so he decided to speed the job up by connecting an air hose to push the oil out faster. It didn’t take long for the results shown to happen. The cast iron gear box fractured, blowing a large piece off and onto the floor. Fortunately, no one was hurt.

Why Did This Happen?

• The gear box was not a pressure vessel
• More air was added than could be vented, so the pressure built up
• MoC was not used to review the change

© AIChE | Messages for Manufacturing Personnel