Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1480628.015 - 74556 - Dc Power Products Inc

Inspection Information - Office: Sc Department Of Labor, Licensing, And Regulation

Investigation Summary

At 9:00 a.m. on June 23, 2020, an employee was working for a firm that provided support activities for transportation. It provided industrial batteries and chargers for industrial trucks. It also engaged in some maintenance activities. The firm was apparently a contractor for a large international manufacturer of tires. The employee was working at a warehouse at the tire manufacturer's site. The operator of a Lull forklift was removing steel pallets off a trailer on the south side of the warehouse. The trailer held four sea containers. In the containers were several pallets of steel bases and poles. Each pallet held thirty-two steel bases that were 1.2 meters square by 280 millimeters tall (4 feet square by 11 inches tall) and 128 poles that were 1.5 meters (5 feet) long. Each pallet weighed approximately 7,500 pounds. The employee and his coworker, a service manager, were spotting the Lull forklift operator and a service engineer while the pallets were unloaded. Some of the pallet poles came loose from a load of pallets. The employee stepped between the load and the back of the trailer to pick up the fallen poles. At the same time, the Lull operator tilted the load. The load shifted and fell off the forks. When the load of pallets struck the ground, the momentum thrust the poles toward the employee. He was pinned between the load and the back of the container. The Lull operator got off the Lull. The service engineer got on the Lull and moved the pallets away from the employee. Plant security responded and began medical treatment. The employee was placed on a stretcher and taken to the plant's medical department. From there, he was transported via ambulance to the hospital. He underwent surgery before dying that afternoon. There were two inspections associated with this investigation. 1480628 was for the firm that provided support activities for transportation. 1495063 was for the firm that manufactured tires. Why 6:14 p.m. was cited was not clear.

Keywords: Crushed, Emergency Response, Falling Object, Forklift, Ind Trk Operator, Industrial Truck, Pallet, Palletized Cargo, Pinned, Powered Industrial Vehicle, Struck By, Unstable Load