2018 Denel explosion (Somerset West)

Human error part of the cause behind Denel explosion, finds report

Cape Town - A year after a deadly explosion killed eight people at a munitions factory in Somerset West, an internal investigation has found that due process was not followed in ensuring the safety of materials.
The findings of the probe into the accident on September 3 last year at the Rheinmetall Denel Munition (RDM) factory were released yesterday. They were also shared with families of the deceased and staff members at the factory.


The investigation was conducted by an experienced multidisciplinary internal team with external assistance, and guided by the company's statutory obligations under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.


The N16 building, where the incident occurred, was used for blending large volumes of propellant from smaller sub-lots. At the time of the incident, sub-lots of single base propellant were being blended into one homogenous final lot. Propellant had been safely blended at the N16 facility since it commenced operations in the 1980s without any incident.
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More at:
www.iol.co.za

Human error part of the cause behind Denel explosion, finds report

A year after a deadly explosion killed eight people at the Rheinmetall Denel Munition factory an internal investigation found that due process was not followed.
www.iol.co.za www.iol.co.za
 
schumi said:
Human error part of the cause behind Denel explosion, finds report

www.iol.co.za

Human error part of the cause behind Denel explosion, finds report

A year after a deadly explosion killed eight people at the Rheinmetall Denel Munition factory an internal investigation found that due process was not followed.
www.iol.co.za www.iol.co.za
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Never heard of this kind of issue with munitions:
Investigation leader Rod Keyser said: “The investigation team therefore concluded that the cause was a combination of human error when excess graphite was added to the material, and a highly complex electrostatic electricity risk which was very unlikely to have been foreseen, or expected to have been foreseen, by the individuals involved.”

The investigation established that the most likely cause of the explosion was a build-up of electrostatic electricity in a suspended graphite cloud due to the triboelectric effect (a type of contact electrification in which certain materials become electrically charged) and a subsequent discharge which ignited airborne propellant in the blending drum.

“This particular type of electrostatic electricity risk was, as far as the investigation team has been able to determine, a previously unidentified and unforeseen hazard across the industry internationally,” Keyser said.
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and a subsequent discharge which ignited airborne propellant in the blending drum.

That should never happen

Even fine maize dust when airborne can EXPLODE
Maize storage and milling facilities have to take precautionary measures to make sure this does not happen

Grain Operations: Preventing grain dust explosions

Cannot understand how -- airborne propellant is allowed ?
 
Angry families demand inquiry into explosion at Rheinmetall Denel Munition plant

Cape Town - The families of the eight victims who died following an explosion at an arms manufacturing plant in Somerset West last year are calling for the provincial government to institute a commission of inquiry into the incident. This after Rheinmetall Denel Munition (RDM) recently released the findings of a report that probed the explosion, in September last year, that left eight workers dead.

Nico Angelo Samuels, 41, Stevan Isaacs, 51, Mxolisi Sigadla, 40, Bradley Tandy, 19, Jamie Lesley Haydricks, 24, Jason Hartzenberg, 22, Triston Davids, 22, Thandolwethu Mankayi, 27, were killed in the blast. The report found that the explosion was a result of a combination of human error and an electrostatic electricity risk, caused by an excess of graphite added to the material, an occurrence they said was unforeseeable. Now families of the eight say they are unhappy about the findings.
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More at : https://www.iol.co.za/weekend-argus...-at-rheinmetall-denel-munition-plant-38419042
 
Denel explosion: First witness takes stand as public inquiry into blast that killed 8 kicks off

More questions than answers have surfaced surrounding the 2018 blast at the Rheinmetall Denel munitions plant in Somerset West in the Western Cape, which killed eight people.

The first day of the public inquiry heard testimony from a former worker who revealed there was an urgency to mix explosive products, and staff members had to work overtime.

Three witnesses were called to testify before the inquiry, spearheaded by the Department of Labour, following mounting pressure from the victims' families.

Among the witnesses was former operator Fernando Jacobs who worked at the plant for six years.

On the day of the explosion, Jacobs said he had worked in the N16 building where the explosion took place. The building was used to blend large volumes of propellant from smaller sub-lots.

At the time of the incident, sub-lots of single-base propellant were being blended into one homogenous final lot. Propellants had been safely blended at the facility without incident since it commenced operations in the 1980s.
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More at: https://www.news24.com/news24/South...y-into-blast-that-killed-8-kicks-off-20210503
 
As I mentioned before, I worked in that exact building it had a huge saucer shaped drum which could be loaded with 1 ton of propellant from different sub lots, the purpose was to homogenize these into a final lot.Static was a huge problem and the place scared the crap out of me, certain propellants like ballistite were more prone to static and would literally stand on edge and wave to and fro after a 10 min blending session.
 
chromedome said:
As I mentioned before, I worked in that exact building it had a huge saucer shaped drum which could be loaded with 1 ton of propellant from different sub lots, the purpose was to homogenize these into a final lot.Static was a huge problem and the place scared the crap out of me, certain propellants like ballistite were more prone to static and would literally stand on edge and wave to and fro after a 10 min blending session.
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Im curious, did you get a job in Beirut afterwards?
maybe thats why the explosion happened.
 
eg2505 said:
so would you say what happened at the plant where you worked was inevitable?
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Who knows, in my time we used to have to attach an earth cable to the drum and this was supposed to drain the static.
 
Five Denel explosion victims were still in training

Cape Town – Employee competency came under the spotlight at day two of the Rheinmetall Denel Munition (RDM) public inquiry yesterday, with an officer testifying that some of those who died still required relevant training.

The evidence was given by training officer, Mcebisi Ngqaqu, who has 21 years of experience working for RDM.

He testified that of the eight employees who died, five still had red arm bands, which were for employees who still required training.

Following the testimony, the families’ representative, Winston Erasmus, then asked why were the “incompetent” employees were “allowed to work with explosives and not given something safer”.

Ngqaqu, who is also responsible for compiling the questionnaire which tests employee competency to work on a particular plant, referred the question to the company.
Nico Samuels was the supervisor of all the buildings, and there are team leaders or supervisors for every team and for this particular team (Robert) Isaacs was the team leader.

“I assign the competent person to train the employees… then they use the questionnaire as a test to check the competency of the employee and whether they are sticking to what they have been trained to do.”

It also came to light at the inquiry that at the time of the explosion, Samuels had gone to assist the team as there was an unexplained pressure and an emergency, which also resulted in the team working overtime.
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More at: https://www.iol.co.za/capetimes/new...training-5a5859b4-bb11-458e-9f6b-01d13f99965e
 
[/b] Denel explosion inquiry postponed to July [/b]

Cape Town - The inquiry into the fatal 2018 explosion at Cape Town's Rheinmetall Denel Munitions (RDM) have been postponed to July, following the completion of the evidence gathering exercise a day ahead of schedule.

The inquiry held at the Macassar Civic Centre, was meant to have sat until yesterday, Thursday.

However, after one witness declined to appear due to a Covid-19 scare and another said they were available only today, Friday, the attorneys and presiding officer agreed the interviews would be conducted during the next round set for July 5 and 7.

Before proceedings began earlier there was a moment of silence in memory of the eight people who died in the explosion: team leader Stevon Isaacs, 51, operators Mxolisi Sigadla, 40, Bradley Tandy, 19, Jamie Haydricks, 24, Jason Hartzenberg, 22, Triston David, 22 and Thandolwethu Mankayi, 27 as well as factory supervisor Nico Samuels, 41.
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More at: https://www.iol.co.za/capeargus/new...-to-july-23d51ad5-722a-44cf-9b8a-84a125dd4440
 

Denel explosion: Public inquiry into blast that killed 8 resumes, 17 witnesses lined up​

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A witness broke down during the second part of the public inquiry into the 2018 blast that killed eight people at the Rheinmetall Denel Munition (RDM) plant in Macassar, which kicked off on Tuesday.

Edmunt Daniels, one of the team leaders at the mixing facilities who worked with the supervisor, Nico Samuels, told the inquiry that Samuels would never do anything to jeopardise the company or anyone's safety.

Samuels died in the explosion. His name came up several times in the inquiry when previous witnesses testified that he had used his private vehicle to transport explosives.

Daniels broke down on Tuesday when he testified about Samuels' work ethic and character.

He described Samuels as a "nice guy" who worked hard. The two of them worked together just a few days before the explosion.

The legal representatives for Denel told Daniels they understood how hard the process had been for him and the families.

"I know it often seems that we don't care but we do care. We care about this process and we want to get to the bottom of what happened that day," the legal representative said.

Another witness, Vershan Govender, who was the acting head of the site, testified that nothing out of the ordinary happened on the day the explosion occurred.
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More at: https://www.news24.com/news24/south...lled-8-resumes-17-witnesses-lined-up-20211019
 

Denel Inquiry: All we want is justice for our people so they can rest in peace, says families​

Cape Town - Family members of the eight people who were killed in the fatal 2018 explosion at Cape Town’s Rheinmetall Denel Munitions (RDM) on Wednesday spoke out about their unhappiness with how long it was taking to get answers about who was responsible for the deaths.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Department of Employment and Labour’s public commission of inquiry into the explosion, family members accused RDM of dodging responsibility for what happened.
The eight who died in the explosion were: team leader Stevon Isaacs, 51, operators Mxolisi Sigadla, 40, Bradley Tandy, 19, Jamie Haydricks, 24, Jason Hartzenberg, 22, Triston Davids, 22, and Thandolwethu Mankayi, 27, as well as factory supervisor Nico Samuels, 41.
Factory supervisor Nico Samuels’ widow Laurentia said: “We are basically fed up with what is going on. We just want the company to take responsibility for our loved ones who have passed on.
“They are to blame. They are prolonging our struggle to grieve and learning how to move forward. We will never get over it, but every time we have to listen to these testimonies it is like a wound that won’t heal because it keeps getting ripped open.
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More at: https://www.iol.co.za/capeargus/new...families-3cd02d8f-d429-4cbc-ac3b-c7f92f83d20f
 

Inquiry into Denel explosion hears that risk assessment was carried out poorly​


CAPE TOWN - Risk assessment processes had been amiss at the time of the Rheinmetall Denel Munition explosion.
This emerged on the second day of the second sitting for the commission of inquiry into the explosion which claimed the lives of eight employees while several others were injured on September 3, 2018.
Witness and factory engineer Janse van Rensburg on Wednesday confirmed that the risk assessment process to have a new valve fitted at the N16 plant, where the explosion occurred, had not been completed.
Van Rensburg, who had been part of the modification committee and a plant manager at the time, confirmed that he was unaware that the new valve had been fitted the Friday and came to know of this only after the explosion occurred.
Evidence and testimony given detailed that a valve had been fitted at the N16 plant's blending drum - where propellant was blended - on the Friday before the explosion on the Monday.
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More at: https://www.iol.co.za/capetimes/new...t-poorly-1b95ab51-7543-41ba-a0ee-01dbc78d947d
 
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