Accident Report Detail
Accident Summary Nr: 202484846 - Employee Fractures Arm Adjusting Conveyor Belt
Inspection Nr | Date Opened | SIC | NAICS | Establishment Name |
---|---|---|---|---|
120207956 | 03/06/2007 | 1442 | 212321 | Daniel L. Ellison Dba Auburn Concrete |
Abstract: On February 8, 2007, Employee #1 was working for a firm that provided sand and gravel for construction uses. He was using a mobile conveyor belt to put gravel in a pile. The conveyor belt, capable of extending to a length of 80 feet, is supported by rollers and is powered by a 400 horsepower motor. Due to the dust and dirt involved in the process, the rollers have the tendency to become encrusted with debris. This condition causes the conveyor belt to move to one side or the other of the rollers depending upon how the debris cakes onto the rollers. On the day of the accident, Employee #1 noticed that the conveyor was moving to one side, so he decided to adjust the belt to make it centered. To center the belt, he got on a truck bed (admittedly, against his better judgment) and tried to perform the process while the conveyor belt was running overhead. He did not deenergize or disengage the power source or lock out the movable parts. His argument was that shutting down, adjusting, and starting the belt up again took too long, because the person adjusting the belt could not make the exact adjustment needed on one try. To dislodge some of the debris that was caked on, he tapped a nearby roller. When his hand was near the point where the conveyor belt crossed over the roller, his hand and arm were drawn into and around the roller. He sustained a fracture to his arm and possibly elsewhere. He was hospitalized.
Employee # | Inspection Nr | Age | Sex | Degree of Injury | Nature of Injury | Occupation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 120207956 | Hospitalized injury | Fracture | Miscellaneous material moving equipment operators |