Inspection Detail

Inspection: 110585.015 - Rumpke Of Ohio, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Cincinnati Area Office

Investigation Summary

At 3:30 p.m. on December 20, 2011, an employee was on site at a scrap paper and cardboard recycling and baling facility. The employee was employed through a temporary employment service and was assigned at the company to clean up/sweep loose scrap paper that was on the warehouse floor and around the baler. A forklift operator was operating a Hyster H60FT forklift to load scrap paper bales into a semi truck trailer for shipment and resale. The bales were approximately five foot four inches long by four feet wide and thirty inches deep. The bales averaged between 1,700 and 2,000 pounds each. Each bale was banded with five, twelve gauge wires. The Hyster was equipped with forks and no specialized material handling attachment. Operator #1 was attempting to pick the top bale from a stack which was four bales high. The stacks of bales behind the one from which he was attempting to lift the top bale were also four bales high. The bottom bale in each stack was placed directly on the poured, concrete floor, with successive bales in each stack placed directly on top of the bottom bale. There were no pallets or dividers between any of the bales. As the forklift operator attempted to insert the forks of the lift between the top and the next lower bale from a stack located at the north east corner of the dock, the bale slid backward, striking the stacks of bales in the row(s) behind resulting in six bales falling and striking Employee #1. The forklift operator was unaware that the fallen bales had struck Employee #1 until he was told by a management official.

Keywords: Baler, Crushing, Falling Object, Material Handling, Powered Industrial Vehicle, Struck By