Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1469345.015 - Economical Janitorial & Paper Supplies, Llc

Inspection Information - Office: Baton Rouge Area Office

Investigation Summary

At 10:15 p.m. on March 5, 2020, an employee was working for a firm that sold paper janitorial and cleaning supplies. He was working as an order clerk or order selector. He was in Aisle G, Section 300, of the firm's general warehouse, operating a Raymond model 560-OPC30TT order-picker, with serial number 560-12-A15809. He had not been trained in the use of this forklift. He was processing an order and picking stock from an elevated storage rack. His supervisor saw him picking up toilet paper from the ground as she was walking to her office. He was tied off at that time. Shortly after that, he was found on the floor, with the forks of the order picker in a raised position. The employee had fallen approximately 12 feet (3.7 meters). His supervisor called emergency services, and the employee was taken by ambulance to a hospital. Upon arrival, he was in stable condition. The employee had suffered a broken back, a ruptured spleen, and multiple rib fractures. He was hospitalized for two or more days. The employer notified OSHA of the incident at 6:12 p.m. on Friday, March 7, 2020, right after the firm's president had learned from a family member that the employee was still in the hospital. The firm's manager said that in the past he had seen the employee trying to turn the forklift sideways in an aisle to pick an order. The aisles were not wide enough for this maneuver. The manager thought that the employee was trying to do that again. After the incident, the manager found toilet paper shifted in the rack and suspected that the employee was climbing up there to get it when he fell. The employer reported that the employee was wearing a harness at the time of incident, but he was not tied off to the order-picker. The employee had come from another employer and had been through training. He showed his certification and put it on his employment application. His current firm had not trained him or observed him when he began working. It did not have a copy of the certification.

Keywords: Aisle, Back, Broken Bone, Emergency Response, Fall, Fall From Elevation, Fall Protection, Forklift, Fracture, Harness, Ind Trk Operator, Order-picker , Powered Industrial Vehicle, Recordkeeping, Reporting, Rib, Rupture, Spleen, Storage Rack, Supervision, Supervisor, Tie-Off, Train, Training, Untrained, Warehouse, Warehouse Aisle, Work at Elevation