Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1466075.015 - Industrial Welding & Maintenance, Llc

Inspection Information - Office: Savannah Area Office

Investigation Summary

At 12:10 p.m. on February 19, 2020, an employee working for an industrial equipment supplier was standing inside an aerial lift basket performing fire watch. A coworker (the owner) was in the basket repairing a six-foot section of track for an overhead kick belt. The kick belt transports fertilizer product from train cars to bins inside of the facility. The belt track is located underneath a catwalk, which had guardrails installed on both sides. However, some sections of the guardrails had been removed on both sides. The coworker and employee were both wearing a personal fall arrest systems anchored to the basket of the aerial lift while performing the work. The employee unhooked from the basket to get out and go to the restroom and stepped out onto the catwalk. As he stepped out, he fell through an unsecured section of grating onto the sulfate fertilizer below. The employee fractured his neck and ribs and collapsed/punctured a lung, requiring hospitalization.

Keywords: Aerial Lift, Belt Conveyor, Blunt force, Blunt force trauma, Catwalk, Collapsed lung, Fall, Fall From Elevation, Fall Protection, Floor Grate, Fracture, Guardrail, Hot Work, Lung, Neck, PPE, PPE Hazard Assessment, Protective Clothing, Puncture, Puncture Wound, Repair, Rib, Unsecured, Walking Surface, Work Surface