Technical Notes: Safety Devices for Hydraulic Soil Coring Machines

Abstract

There are inherent safety hazards associated with the operation of commercially available hydraulic soil coring machines. Objectives were to improve safety of hydraulic soil coring machine operations without employing cumbersome devices that are likely to be discarded by machine operators. Serious finger injuries can occur if the rotary hydraulic controls are accidentally engaged while the soil sampling tube is pressed into or extracted from the soil. Heavy down pressures while pushing the soil tube through dense soil layers may cause the hinge lock to slip out of the locked position, resulting in a bent cylinder rod and posing a safety hazard when repositioning the hinge lock. Cleaning the soil tube with a hydraulically driven rotary brush has caused finger injuries because it is very difficult to apply enough bare-hand pressure to keep the brush from turning the tube. To eliminate the potential of accidentally engaging the rotary hydraulic controls, a swing-out safety plate was added to the rotary control lever. A stop plate was added to prevent the hinge lock from slipping. A protective sleeve was provided to prevent finger injuries while holding and cleaning soil tubes. These safety devices are simple to install and easy to use, thereby enhancing safe operation of the machine.