Inspection Detail

Inspection: 123561284 - Tubes, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Houston North Area Office

Inspection Nr: 123561284

Report ID: 0626600

Date Opened: 04/02/1996

Site Address:
Tubes, Inc.
6432 Cunningham
Houston, TX 77041

Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 79629, Houston, TX 77279

Union Status: NonUnion

SIC:3317

NAICS: 0

Inspection Type: Accident

Scope: Partial

Advanced Notice: Y

Ownership: Private

Safety/Health: Safety

Close Conference: 04/04/1996

Planning Guide: Safety-Manufacturing

Emphasis:

Case Closed: 06/21/1996

Related Activity
Type	Activity Nr	Safety	Health
Accident	360925481

Violation Summary
Violations/Penalties	Serious	Willful	Repeat	Other	Unclass	Total
Initial Violations	2					2
Current Violations	2					2
Initial Penalty	$4,500	$0	$0	$0	$0	$4,500
Current Penalty	$4,500	$0	$0	$0	$0	$4,500
FTA Penalty	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0

Violation Items
#	Citation ID	Citaton Type	Standard Cited	Issuance Date	Abatement Due Date	Current Penalty	Initial Penalty	FTA Penalty	Contest	Latest Event	Note
1.	01001	Serious	19100147 C04 II	04/18/1996	05/21/1996	$1,000	$1,000	$0		-
2.	01002	Serious	19100176 B	04/18/1996	05/21/1996	$3,500	$3,500	$0		-

Investigation Summary

Investigation Nr: 14409783

Event: 04/01/1996

Employee killed when struck by collapsing stack of tubes

At approximately 2:00 p.m. on April 1, 1996, employees were preparing low fin steel tubes for shipping in a stacked-rack wooden box. The 4-ft-long tubes were bundled in groups of 100, and each bundle weighed 3,400 lb. The tubes were tied together by hand using a 0.5-in. black plastic (polypropylene) strap and a wire buckle. The tubes were stored three bundles to a tier, in stacks of four tiers. Each tier was separated by 4 by 4 or 2 by 4 lumber. Employee #1 was standing in a 3-ft-wide aisle, placing a 40-ft spreader bar on top of the rack of tubes in preparation for hoisting. When the 1,200-lb-spreader bar was set atop the bundled tubes, one of the bottom bundles apparently shifted, breaking or stretching its plastic strapping. This allowed the tubes to slide off the rack toward the aisle in which Employee #1 was standing. Employee #1 was trapped upright, pinned by tubes from his feet to his chest. The spreader bar, which was still attached to the crane and on top of the tubes, also came down and struck Employee #1 in the chest. He was killed.

Keywords: CHEST, LOADING, STEEL TUBE, UNSECURED, WORK RULES, EQUIPMENT FAILURE, CAUGHT BETWEEN, STRUCK BY, SPREADER BAR, UNSTABLE LOAD

Investigated Inspection
#	Inspection	Age	Sex	Degree of Injury	Nature of Injury	Occupation
1	123561284			Fatality	Other	Occupation not reported

Thank You for Visiting Our Website

You are exiting the Department of Labor's Web server.

The Department of Labor does not endorse, takes no responsibility for, and exercises no control over the linked organization or its views, or contents, nor does it vouch for the accuracy or accessibility of the information contained on the destination server. The Department of Labor also cannot authorize the use of copyrighted materials contained in linked Web sites. Users must request such authorization from the sponsor of the linked Web site. Thank you for visiting our site. Please click the button below to continue.