Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1245367.015 - Vp Holding Corporation

Inspection Information - Office: Appleton Area Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 11:30 a.m. on June 28, 2017, an employee was working in the Columbian bin with a 60,000 bushel capacity metal bin performing cleaning activities. There was less than one bushel of material in the metal bin at the time of the accident. Approximately 15 to 16 feet above the bin floor was caked on corn which needed to be scrapped off in order for the wheat to be filled in the bin. The wheat bin was to be harvested in the coming weeks and in preparation cleaning was conducted. It was a dreary day with light rain so the employee decided to do the cleaning inside the bin. The employee in passing told a coworker that he was going to clean inside the bin. The coworker was not aware how he was going to do the cleaning but assumed he would do it from the bin floor. The employee did not fill out a permit, perform all of the required de-energization, or have an observer prior to entering the bin. The employee was using the bottom section of an extension ladder and a scrapper on a pole to perform the cleaning activities. About two hours into the task, the ladder the employee was using to reach the material slipped down resulting in the employee falling he believed about 8-10 feet. The employee sustained injuries on his left side to include but not limit to a cut on the arm, cracked rib, chipped hip bone, cracked pelvic bone, and upper arm/shoulder cracked bone. The employee was able to get out of the bin and get assistance where he was later transported to the hospital and remained until July 1, 2017.

Keywords: Arm, Fall, Fracture, Grain Bin, Grain Elevator, Hip, Laceration, Ladder, Pelvis, Rib, Shoulder, Slip