Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1497733.015 - Quad/Graphics, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Milwaukee Area Office

Investigation Summary

At 10:30 a.m. on March 31, 2020, an employee and a coworker, both working as electricians and a journeyman mechanics for a graphic design service were conducting maintenance work. They started preventative maintenance (PM) on the High Density Storage System (HDSS). Both the employee and the coworker had been trained to work on the HDSS system including an HSDD climbing class where this process was reviewed. In this training, both were taught the proper way to tie off in the HDSS, using radios for communication and driving/operating the crane in both manual and auto mode. The aisle has two cranes in operation. Crane #1 was parked, the crane aisle placed in maintenance, and the crane gate closed and secured. This allowed Crane #2 to safely continue picking up skids while they performed PM on Crane #1. The employee was the lead electrician/mechanic providing direction to the coworker. One item on their PM list was painting the chains, which required they lubricate the chains manually. To do this, the coworker was in Crane #1 operating the crane in manual mode. The employee was on the lift station, seated above the crane on a cross support bar to perform lubrication and test the vertical limit switch. He was correctly tied off to the system. The employee and coworker communicated by radio. When they reached the very top of the HDSS, the employee manually tripped the vertical limit switch to perform the PM. After they had reset the limit switches, they communicated by radio. The coworker thought he heard the employee tell him to go up, when he actually said to go down. When the coworker moved the crane and lift station up, the employee pinned his leg between the frame of the crane and the cross bar of the lift station. The employee broke his leg and was hospitalized.

Keywords: Broken Bone, Caught Between, Communication, Contusion, Crane, Crushed, Fracture, Frame, Hoist, Hoisting Mechanism, Leg, Maintenance, Mechanic