Rank: Forum user 
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Hi all Wondering if I could get some feedback from any engineering competencies. My manager has challenged a root cause for a lighting tower E stop failure and ultimate costs. - Lighting tower topples over in high wind
- Operator push E stop
- Engine would not not stop
Identifeid root cause -When the lighting tower was blown over, the oil in the engine reservoir spilled into the head causing the engine to continue to run until the oil was burnt up. On toppling over, the oil in the engine reservoir had passed the scavenger ring resulting in the engine continuing running on when the emergency button was activated. I am terrible at engines however , this sounds fisable but i am struggling to find the correct operating instruction manual on line Many thanks in advance J
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Rank: New forum user
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Hi, When an engine starts to burn its own lubricating oil as fuel the only means to stop the engine is to stall it. On most diesel engine such as in lighting towers the engine is stopped by shutting off the flow of fuel via a solenoid. In the case of an E stop activation the same solenoid would be activated however in your case the fuel being burnt is the lubricant oil and there is no way to remove or stop the flow. Its relatively well know issue in diesel cars as well, (not toppling over) if an oil seal fails especially in the turbo the engine feeds off its own oil and revs higher and higher until either the engine siezes or bits fly out. Its almost always terminal.
So your root casue is feasible, no amount of E stop pressing would shut it off once the lubricant is being burnt only control measure to prevent re- occurence is to reduce height of towers in high winds or add extra stabilisers.
W
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 1 user thanked wolf1608 for this useful post.
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Rank: Super forum user 
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Rank: Super forum user
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It sounds like you have identified a feasible cause of the failure of the e-stop, but this is not the root cause. What is the management, planning or organisational failure that allowed this situation to arise?
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1 user thanked andybz for this useful post.
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Rank: Forum user
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Hi guys Thanks wolf and Chris for the feedback in relation to the issue surrounding the question I asked. Thanks for the reminder about management , supervision and monitoring.
J
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Rank: Super forum user
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I'd go along with Andybz, that the root cause is the step that allowed or caused the tower to continue to perate in such adverse winds. A sudden surprise gust can't easily be planned for but strong winds rarely suddenly appear without their being a point at which the operators can decide to start or complete a shut down.
Perhaps looking at how to stop the engine may be part of the analysis but you have only had to look at that becasue of another (earlier) step in the process had failed - I'd opt that the RCA needs to go one step further.
Edited by user 30 November 2018 17:40:12(UTC)
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Rank: Super forum user 
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As far as engines and burning sump oil goes, I can vouch for the comments already made, I was launched onto the other side of a road whilst cornering because the Transit Connect I was driving many years ago decided to lunch it's turbo charger and feed the engine sump oil via the turbo, which is a self-perpetuating diasater, and the ONLY way to stop the engine is wait for it to lunch itself, or, stall it. Diesel engines will quite happily burn sump oil all day if you keep feeding them, and they don't lunch themselves first. Oil in the head will caue this, but the scavenger ring, is I believe another name for what I would call the oil control ring, which is on the piston, but the rest of the explanation is totally feasible. I'm only here because there was no traffic coming the other way during my incident. Van fully main dealer serviced at the required intervals regardless of cost btw.
Also as has been said, the e-stop is a scondary measure, the failing was not in the e-stop, it is not and cannot prevent this, it is down to the operation of the equipment outside it's parameters. Was there a real tangible hazard to people due to the failure of the e-stop?
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Rank: Super forum user
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Whilst you have looked at the failure of the engine stop system you really ought to have asked questions about why the equipment toppled in the first place. This would have quickly brought you to the inadequacies of procedures and operative training, both of which rests in a weak management system
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Rank: Forum user
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Was this unit hired in?
Just wondering if the supplier provided any guidance on this, never hired one so not sure
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Rank: Forum user
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Hi all Thanks for all the replies we can now close this thread as the question I asked has been answered i.e specificely the reason why the engineering of E stop would not work and recieved with grtaitude. Managment , supervision and monitoring aside is all being very carefully taken care of and I dont really want to take this to the subjective masess of EHS advisors. I assure however I fully undertstand the hows ,whos and whys of project delivery and operations v EHS.
J
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