Commercial Walk-Behind Lawn Mower Failure Analysis Case Study

Abstract A failure modes and effects testing program was conducted to analyze the cause of a mid-size commercial walk-behind lawn mower accident in which the operator’s foot came in contact with the rotating blade. Systematic analysis showed that the accident was caused by improper mower service and operator misuse of the mower. Testing results reveal that an alternative design proposal does not preclude this random event. Accident prevention countermeasures are explored.