UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Inspection Detail

Note: The following inspection has not been indicated as closed. Please be aware that the information shown may change, e.g. violations may be added or deleted. For open cases, in which a citation has been issued, the citation information may not be available for 5 days following receipt by the employer for Federal inspections or for 30 days following receipt by the employer for State inspections.

Inspection: 1480819.015 - Bhp, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Milwaukee

Investigation Summary

At 11:00 a.m. on June 26, 2020, an employee was working for a manufacturer of he avy-gauge metal tanks. He was working in the firm's weld department. He and a co worker were rigging up a large fuel tank so that they could move it with an over head crane. The crane was a 180-kilonewton- (20-ton-) capacity MetroCrane bridge crane, with serial number 1139599. It had a hoist and chain sling. It was contr olled through a Magnetek model number Flex 6EX2 pendant control, with serial num ber 109104. This was a remotely controlled wireless pendant control. The steel t ank they were moving weighed 3,345 kilograms (7,375 pounds). It was 8.5 meters l ong by 0.66 meters tall by 2.5 meters wide (28 feet long by 2.16 feet tall by 8. 16 feet wide). The tank was on the ground. It had lifting points on all four cor ners. The coworker, working on a clear side of the tank, rigged the sling to the two corner pick points on his side. The employee was working between the tank t o be lifted and another steel tank. The space between the two tanks varied from 300 millimeters to less than 600 millimeters (1 foot to less than 2 feet). The e mployee had rigged up one pick point and was trying to squeeze through the space between the two tanks to hook up the final pick point. He inadvertently leaned on the crane's controls. The crane was set into operation before the steel tank was properly rigged. The employee could not escape. The tank being rigged moved, crushing the employee's legs between it and the adjacent tank. The employee was pinned. He suffered a fractured leg, rib fractures, a contusion to his right lu ng and damage to his femoral artery. He died two days later in the hospital from a blood clot caused by his leg injuries. The radio-controlled wireless pendant was not placed in a safe location while the rigging was being done. The workers were exposed to a crushing hazard. The pendant control's operating manual contai ned guidelines for locating the pendant control in a safe place.

Keywords:artery, blood clot, caught between, contusion, crushed, fracture, hoist, leg, lung, overhead crane, pinned, remote control, rib, rigging, sling, tank, training, unstable load, unstable position, work rules