Inspection Detail

Inspection: 126198019 - Aircraft Service International Group

Inspection Information - Office: Los Angeles District Office

Investigation Summary

On June 6, 2009, Employee #1, who works in the baggage handling area at LAX was standing on a stepladder ladder, cleaning the debris catch plate under an overhead conveyor while it was moving. The conveyer belt was approximately 8 feet off of the ground and debris trays were installed by the manufacturer approximately 8-to-10 inches beneath the conveyor at the belt transfer locations to catch debris from the luggage as it passed through the conveyor system. Employees empty the debris trays on an "as needed" basis by unhooking the chain that connects the debris tray to the bottom of the conveyor belt frame and then brushing the debris into a trash container. Employees routinely used portable ladders to reach the debris trays to perform the cleaning task while the conveyor was operating. Employee #1 was on a ladder and after cleaning the debris tray, proceeded to scrape some adhesive material off one of the rollers under the conveyor when his right arm became caught between the two rollers and he was pulled up. Employee #1 lost his footing on the ladder and was caught between the two rollers hanging by his trapped arm. Employee #1 alerted the supervisor by shouting for help and the supervisor shut down the conveyor system. The conveyor belt was cut and rollers had to be disassembled to release Employee #1's arm. Employee #1 was then transported by paramedics to the hospital where he was diagnosed and treated for a broken right radius arm Fracture in the emergency department and was later admitted for surgery. The Employer had a lockout/tagout program that is followed by maintenance workers when performing repairs on the conveyor system and other equipment but not for cleaning operations. Since the incident the employer has revised the lockout program to include the task of cleaning the debris receptacles in order to prevent a repeat injury. Citations for a deficient lockout program and lockout procedures were issued to the employer.

Keywords: FRACTURE, AIRPORT, ROLLER CONVEYOR, LOCKOUT, ROLLER--MACH/PART, CONVEYOR, ARM, CONVEYOR BELT