Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1494832.015 - Flint Hills Rural Electric Coop Association Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Wichita Area Office

Investigation Summary

At 1:00 p.m. on September 22, 2020, an employee was working for a rural electric coop. He was part of a crew that had been sent earlier to a residential site to install a utility pole. The crew was now back at the utility's yard, to offload used utility poles that they had accumulated. They were using the firm's truck number 26, a 2019 Freightliner, which had been converted by Altec into their model DM47BTR digger derrick. It was equipped with a boom for boring holes in the ground for utility poles. It also had a pole rack for carrying utility poles. The employer's practice was to load three poles onto the pole rack. At the front of the group of poles, it was 123 in. (3.13 m) from the ground to the top of the poles. At the back of the group of poles, it was 82 in. (2.08 m) from the ground to the top of the poles The crew was lifting a 35-foot (10.7-meter) long class 5 pole that they had brought back to the yard. The utility pole was strapped to a carriage. When the crew tightened a sling prior to attaching the sling to the overhead winch cable, the pole rolled off the digger derrick and fell onto the employee. No wheel chocks had been placed under the truck's wheels to prevent movement. Because wheel chocks were not in use, the truck moved, causing the pole to fall. The pole fell about 30 in. (0.76 meters) before striking the employee. The employee was caught between the pole and the ground. He suffered injuries to his right shoulder, the left side of his ribs, and internally. He was hospitalized and was in intensive care. The employer had provided a remote-controlled magnetic lifting device for the employees to use when completing tasks that required the lifting, positioning, and repositioning of large and heavy loads, such as wooden poles. Lifting operations were completed in the open and were in the direct line of sight of the site supervisor.

Keywords: Boom, Cable, Crushed, Digger/Derrick, E GI III (unsafe position), Elec Utility Work, Electrical, Falling Object, Internal Injuries, Lifting, Material Handling, Mech Mat Handling, Rib, Shoulder, Sling, Struck By, Unstable Load, Utility, Utility Pole, Winch