Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1496318.015 - Young Galvanizing, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Erie Area Office

Investigation Summary

At 2:15 a.m. on September 30, 2020, an employee was working as "pot man #1" for a company that performs galvanizing. He was working with a coworker working as "pot man #2" preparing to perform a tandem lift utilizing two overhead monorail cranes. The lift was necessary in order to dip and submerge coral I-beams/girders (beams) in a zinc-galvanizing tank. The employee was working at monorail crane #5 on the west side at the front of the beams closest to the tank while his coworker worked at monorail crane #4 on the east side at the rear of the beams. The employee had his back to his coworker as he attached a short (1-foot) S-hook to the crane hook and structural / mechanical under-the-hook lifting device. After the coworker hooked up the long (2-foot) S-hook to the crane hook and structural / mechanical under-the-hook lifting device, he hit the up button on the pendant in order to take up the slack in the cable. The coworker stated that as the crane when up it travelled faster than usual and caused the three beams to lift off the ground. The beams weighed a combined 4,000 pounds and measured 29-feet 9-1/4-inches in length each. The beams fell over and struck the employee in the back of the calves knocking him the floor face first. The employee was hospitalized to treat multiple bilateral leg fractures.

Keywords: Attachment Hook, Beam, Crane, Dip Tank, Falling Object, Fracture, Laborer, Leg, Lost Control, Metal, Pendant Control, Rigging, Struck By, Tandem Lift, Unsafe Position, Unstable Load, Zinc Plating