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bwest
Administrator
United States
3820 Posts |
 Posted - 10/14/2014 : 06:36:03 AM
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I lost a new friend Friday. I met Tim Powers through a bus salesman, last school year, because he was interested in propane buses. We road together to a bus mechanic's seminar in St.Louis and I thought I would have many years of swapping stories with him. He was very interested in propane buses but couldn't bring himself to make the commitment. One of the most interesting things I found about him was that he was an inventor of sorts. He was working on a bicycle with a small DC motor on it that he could ride to work. He really enjoyed talking about that bike when I rode over to St. Louis with him. You never know when it's your time.
Here is a link to the obit:
http://herald-review.com/lifestyles/announcements/obituaries/powers-timothy-w/article_5ab0762f-3e3f-5366-a6a8-71861ea63a31.html
The details are sketchy, at best, but the report is that he was under a bus and the "lift failed". I'm not sure what kind of lift he had but I would say he wasn't using jack stands.
Everyone be careful out there! |
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bwest
Administrator
United States
3820 Posts |
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Thomasbus24
Administrator
USA
4544 Posts |
Posted - 10/14/2014 : 08:56:44 AM
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Sorry to hear about your friend. The unfortunate truth is that a lot of us just get so at-ease with the job, that we don't always take the proper precautions.
I'll be posting this in my garage as a reminder. |
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bwest
Administrator
United States
3820 Posts |
Posted - 10/14/2014 : 09:26:50 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by Thomasbus24
Sorry to hear about your friend. The unfortunate truth is that a lot of us just get so at-ease with the job, that we don't always take the proper precautions.
I'll be posting this in my garage as a reminder.
That's a good idea. Think I'll print his picture out and put it up as a reminder. |
Bryan |
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Fastback
Top Member
1500 Posts |
Posted - 10/14/2014 : 11:08:17 AM
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Sorry to hear about your friend and fellow bus tech.
A bus tech friend of mine from a neighboring district was using an air bumper jack on the rear of a bus once. He had it up in the air when the bumper attaching points gave way, besides the calamity of the dropping bus and the flying bumper, the recoil from the now instantly unloaded air jack sent it on a course of its own. My friend avoided the falling bus and flying bumper but the jack ended up landing on his foot and causing major damage that took months to recover from. |
Why yes, the ORIGinal CHARGER is a Fastback |
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raytobe
Advanced Member
USA
293 Posts |
Posted - 10/14/2014 : 6:52:31 PM
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| Very sorry to hear about his death. Scared me straight. Jack stands EVERY time from now on for me. |
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dwight
Senior Member
USA
58 Posts |
Posted - 10/15/2014 : 03:53:06 AM
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Bryan
If you receive more info on the type of lift and how this happened, I'm sure this group would be interested in details.
Dwight |
20 SCHOOL BUS FLEET OWNER/OPERATOR (Retired) |
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bwest
Administrator
United States
3820 Posts |
Posted - 10/15/2014 : 05:26:04 AM
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raytobe, that is what I'm hoping for myself and others as I tell this story. Has really made me take a second look at what I do. In a small district, where you are wearing many hats, it is easy to take short cuts to get things done. Tim was in an identical situation as I am, small district with a get it done mentality. He was the same age and his children are close to my children's ages. He grew up on a farm as I did and had some of the same interests that I do. So to say this has made an impact on me would probably be an understatement.
dwight, I have been in contact with the superintendent in Shelbyville and I'm sure I will be getting the information when it is available. |
Bryan |
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aaronwilmoth80911
Top Member
538 Posts |
Posted - 10/15/2014 : 07:08:36 AM
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| Yes Bryan, please keep us posted as new information comes available. Terribly sorry to hear about your friend. Stay safe out there everyone. |
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bwest
Administrator
United States
3820 Posts |
Posted - 10/15/2014 : 08:52:40 AM
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| I just saw a salesman who calls on Tim too and he is telling me that he had an air bumper jack and didn't have a jack stand on the place. I had never been in his shop so I don't know if that would ring true or not. In Illinois we don't have anything that regulates a school bus shop beyond OSHA. The problem with OSHA is that they can be an axx about things when all they need to do is explain what the risk is. I think some times they do more harm than good with their attitude. |
Bryan |
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RonF
Top Member
867 Posts |
Posted - 10/15/2014 : 09:29:50 AM
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Sorry to here and if you can pass on my condolences please.
I had a dream about 5 years ago that I died when a bus fell on me. That dream enters my mind every time I jack up a bus. Needless to say my jack stands are never far away. |
US Army retired CMBT |
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Crown
Senior Member
89 Posts |
Posted - 10/15/2014 : 7:46:49 PM
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It may or may not have been a factor in this, but it needs to be mentioned that budget should never get in the way of safety. Also not suggesting that anyone do the same, but we use some shop-made jack stands that are probably stronger than anything you can buy and are coming up on being about 30 years old. Again, not suggesting anything other than there is never an excuse to skip safety. Unfortunately, we don't always recognize what may indeed be unsafe, or the odds that something might fail.
Very sorry to hear about your friend bwest. |
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second.flood
Top Member
USA
640 Posts |
Posted - 10/16/2014 : 04:41:10 AM
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I'm reasonably sure that we can all look back and think of an instance where we cut a corner, and jeopardized our safety.
Work safely. |
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Fastback
Top Member
1500 Posts |
Posted - 10/16/2014 : 05:27:27 AM
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| I know I have worked in places where it was common practice to simply trust the mechanical stops on an air bumper jack as the safety stand. Trouble is, you can't trust the bumpers, even if it was fine in the past, the winter chemicals slathered on the roads take their toll on everything. |
Why yes, the ORIGinal CHARGER is a Fastback |
Edited by - Fastback on 10/16/2014 05:34:27 AM |
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mhernandez73
Senior Member
124 Posts |
Posted - 10/16/2014 : 05:36:35 AM
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| so sorry for your loss brother |
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TheRide
Senior Member
107 Posts |
Posted - 10/16/2014 : 05:47:23 AM
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| Praying for the family and community!! |
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bwest
Administrator
United States
3820 Posts |
Posted - 10/16/2014 : 06:03:08 AM
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I appreciate the condolences guys. The people who will really need our prayers are his young family.
As for the thoughts on the causes and how to prevent them for the rest of us. I have more that one person who is going to report back to me if they know anything. I did hear from a salesman who also called on Tim who said that a high school kid heard a lot of racket from the bus barn and ran over to see what was going on and found him there. I don't want to speculate beyond that. |
Bryan |
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bwest
Administrator
United States
3820 Posts |
Posted - 10/16/2014 : 07:00:55 AM
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| Oh, the salesman (really good guy from BB parts so I believe him) said he didn't know of any jack stands on the place. I'm sure that kind of stuff will come out in an OSHA investigation. |
Bryan |
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second.flood
Top Member
USA
640 Posts |
Posted - 10/16/2014 : 08:13:32 AM
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Bryan,
If there is a place to donate to the family..... please post. |
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slippert
Top Member
USA
630 Posts |
Posted - 10/16/2014 : 08:29:16 AM
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| Sorry for the lose of your friend...Terrible thing to happen and as said above ... we all get at ease with the job and need to put saftey top of our lists.. |
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Mechan1c
Top Member
USA
853 Posts |
Posted - 10/16/2014 : 11:00:55 AM
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| I've had a couple of close calls over the years and somehow managed to skate through. It's troubling when I hear about things like this. Sounds like a good man and a great family. Sorry for everyone's loss here. I shared this with my guys in hopes that this will help them. |
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dferrell
Senior Member
102 Posts |
Posted - 10/17/2014 : 09:33:52 AM
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I too am sorry to hear about your friend.
About 20 years ago I had a friend from tech school that died when his floor jack failed while working on his pickup.
I also work at a small school district and sometimes have to wear many hats. A couple of years ago, I was replacing a rear end on one of our busses. While I had in the shop and was waiting for parts, I decided to replace the rear brakes, rear air bags, and a couple of suspension bushings. Anyways, I was using air bottle jacks and had them on a 6x6 block of wood. I had tall 10 ton stands under the rear frame. I had to go up and down several times with the bottle jacks in the process of replacing the air bags and bushings. I was still under the bus on a creeper and I decided to air up the bus through the fitting on the wet tank to fill the air bags and put the weight back on the suspension. When I filled the air system, the bus raised up like normal but in the process of all the suspension work, apparently had gotten a little crooked on the bottle jacks and it caused it to go a little sideways when it raised up. The jacks rolled off the 6x6's and the bus came crashing down. The rear tires, brake drums, etc were off because of also doing the brakes. The jack stands crumpled as they were forced sideways. Praise the Lord that as I started to air up the bus, I was sliding out from under it to go get a tool. I was still sitting on the creeper just next to it when it came crashing down. Our IT guy has an office next to my shop and he came running over because he heard the noise. I was still white and shaking. My boss called the superintendent to come see and she went home with a sick stomach. My boss told me that I needed to go home and see my family.
I think back now after it happened and I don't think there is really a lot that I could have done differently other than maybe just doing 1 job at a time. Its just a reminder that our jobs can be dangerous. We need to always be conscientious of everything we are doing and try not to be distracted - even when having to wear many different hats. |
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Fastback
Top Member
1500 Posts |
Posted - 10/17/2014 : 2:29:41 PM
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| Thank you dferrell for sharing your harrowing experience, I have been near a wheelless car when it fell off the jacks, bad enough. Gives me shivers thinking about a bus doing so. |
Why yes, the ORIGinal CHARGER is a Fastback |
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bwest
Administrator
United States
3820 Posts |
Posted - 10/20/2014 : 07:35:05 AM
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dferrell, thanks for the story. I work in the oil field on the side and grew up on a farm and around the oil field so I know danger when I see it. I am probably the biggest proponent of saving money any way we can and the Lord knows I've had many a close call by using whatever is handy. But there is something to be said about buying equipment that was designed to do the job, sometimes a 4x4 or a 6x6 isn't the proper tool, lol.
On a side note I talked to my super about some replacement equipment in light of this accident and he was real receptive. It really is nice to have a great guy in charge! |
Bryan |
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dferrell
Senior Member
102 Posts |
Posted - 10/20/2014 : 08:39:47 AM
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Yes...I completely agree about having the proper tool. Immediately after the accident, my boss told me to go and buy whatever tools/equipment I need to make sure this doesn't happen again. We bought a pair of air jack/stands: http://store.grayusa.com/index.php/truck-air-jack-stands/model-tajs-3000.html
They have been great for suspension work.
A few thousand dollars can be a lot of money - especially for small school districts, but in comparison to someone's life, it's nothing.
I too am blessed to have a great boss that understands that and provides me with just about any equipment I need. |
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Tragedy in the Bus Barn
