Inspection Detail

Inspection: 126200583 - So Cal Sanitation Llc Dba So Cal Industries

Inspection Information - Office: Monrovia District Office

Investigation Summary

On February 22, 2014, Employee #1, a fence helper, and coworkers were working for a sanitation company that engaged in temporary site services by providing portable restrooms and fences for commercial, industrial and residential venues. Employees began their shift at 6 a.m. on February 22, 2014 and they were cleaning and repairing metal pipes in the fence yard. There was a truck parked in the fence yard in front of the rack where cleaned metal pipes were placed. A coworker was doing maintenance work on the truck to weld hooks. The distance between the truck and the rack was approximately 8 ft. After the lunch break, Employee #1 was operating a forklift to move a bundle of metal pipes from the rack to the storage area. As he approached the rack on the forklift, another coworker walked over to him to talk. After the talk, Employee #1 started walking away from the coworker. Employee #1 was walking parallel to the rack when the coworker tried to lift up a bundle of metal pipes from the rack with a Yale forklift (Model Number GLP060TGEUAE087 and Serial Number A874B21877A). This bundle consisted of approximately 60 pipes and length of pipes ranged between 6 to 8 ft. The coworker lifted the bundle at an angle because of the truck parked in front of the rack. The bundle of metal pipes fell and struck the right leg of Employee #1, fracturing his ankle. The load on the forklift was not balanced, braced and secured as to prevent tipping and falling. Employee #1 was transported to a medical center, where he underwent surgical procedures and received additional medical care and was then hospitalized for 11 days.

Keywords: FRACTURE, UNSECURED, SUSPENDED LOAD, INDUSTRIAL TRUCK, STRUCK BY, FALLING OBJECT, METAL PIPE, ANKLE, UNSTABLE POSITION