Inspection Detail

Inspection: 119633972 - Alcal Roofing & Insulation

Inspection Information - Office: American Canyon District Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 1:20 p.m. on September 24, 2004, Employee #1 was assigned to replenish building materials in the warehouse. He was loading building insulation with a forklift. The material comes in wrapped plastic bundles approximately 4 ft 4 in. by 3 ft 7 in. by 24 in. and weighed approximately 90 lbs. The bundles are secured with five plastic straps and stacked three high on a pallet. The area Employee #1 was loading was a loft approximately 12 ft 4 in. high. The procedure is to load the first pallet with the forklift, then load the next pallet, pushing with the forklift to make room. On this particular occasion, Employee #1 had loaded three or four pallets when one of the top bundles became misaligned. He got off the forklift, climbed up a fixed ladder on the side of the shelf, picked up the bundle by the plastic strapping and began to turn the bundle, using the plastic straps. He felt the strap he was holding snap and was catapulted off the shelf. He first fell onto the forklift and then fell from there to the concrete floor, breaking his hip. The foreman was first on the scene and found Employee #1 conscious on the floor. Employee #1 told him that he had been trying to turn a bundle when a strap he was holding snapped and he fell. He also said he felt pain in his hip. The police was called, and the employee was transported to the hospital via ambulance. The foreman investigated the bundles the employee had been loading and could not find a misaligned bundle, nor any bundles on the shelf with broken straps. The forks were in a raised position and backed away approximately 2 ft from the last loaded bundle. The edge of this bundle was aligned with the edge of the shelf. The ladder the employee climbed to access the location was on the side of the forklift opposite to that where the employee was ultimately found. He was hospitalized with a fractured hip..

Keywords: FRACTURE, INSULATED TOOL, INDUSTRIAL TRUCK, FALL, PALLET, CONCRETE, HIP