Stalled.

This was a purpose-built biomed workshop at Dili Nacional Hospital, TL, 2009. Unlike the kitchen-styled workshops, this-one is old-school tech-bench with RCDs on each, and a manager's office with a glass-panelled door you can close.

In the foreground is an innovative Vietnamese-built neonatal incubator that I was unable to repair. They had a shaded-pole AC motor driving their recirculating fan. The motors/fan assemblies tended to stall with dust, and turn into a heater that would hum to the tune of 50Hz. There was no sensor or alarm to detect a stalled motor, and the clinical staff were not on the look out for under-performing incubator fans.

This was the first time that I had seen a production device built without the usual safety features, sensors and alarms.