Inspection Detail

Inspection: 104430483 - Temps R Us Incorporated

Inspection Information - Office: Department Of Labor, Licensing, And Regulation Division Of Labor And Industry Maryland Occupational Safety And Health

Investigation Summary

Employee #1, a temporary employee, had worked for 1 1/2 hours on the night shift on his first day at a wholesale bakery supply warehouse. He was assigned as a front end person for a forklift driver whose duties were to fill orders from pallet loads of flour, sugar, shortening, etc. These ingredients were stored in bins stacked three to four high. The front end person customarily rode on an unsecured pallet that was set on the forks. The upper half of the load backrest had vertical bars 6 in. apart and was less than 2 in. from the hoist ram and chains and telescoping mast sections. The front end person hung onto the backrest while traveling both horizontally and vertically. If there were one or two items to pick from a bin, he was elevated to that bin, where he picked off the items and was lowered for travel to the next bin. (The bottom of the upper bin was about 16 ft above the floor.) If there were a number of items from a given bin, the pallet would be brought down, the items transferred, and the pallet put back in its bin. On this occasion, the pick was to be made from the second or third bin. Employee #1 had been sitting on the cargo with his back to the backrest. When he went to the stand he put his left elbow on or through the backrest as the forks were being raised, and it was quickly caught and crushed. When he yelled, the operator stopped and unloaded the pallet. Employee #1 was taken to the hospital.

Keywords: WORK RULES, CRUSHED, INDUSTRIAL TRUCK, INEXPERIENCE, ELBOW, UNSTABLE POSITION