Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1613907.015 - Ulg Companies Llc

Inspection Information - Office: Indiana Department Of Labor

Investigation Summary

At 11:20 a.m. on August 4, 2022, three employees were working on a steel building that had been on fire a year prior. The employees were removing the metal roofing material from the roof that was 25 feet above the lower level. The surface below the roof was concrete on the inside of the building and stone and dirt on exterior of the building. There were three employees on the roof and they were removing the last two pieces of metal roofing when Employees #1 and #2 unhooked their retractable lifelines that were hooked to their harnesses and to the aerial lift. A coworker remained tied off and was positioned at the lower end of the roof. The employees were standing on the last piece of roofing that was about 1.5 feet wide and they were removing the second to last piece that was also about 1.5 feet wide. The employees were lifting the roofing when the wind caught it and caused Employee #1 to lose his balance and fall into Employee #2, which caused them both to fall to the concrete floor below. Employee #1 had a history of unhooking his retractable lifeline and having to be told by a foreman to hook up and stay hooked up. When the foreman went down from the roof, all three employees were hooked up to the JLG aerial lift. The foreman instructed the employee to stay hooked up at all times and went down from the roof. After 10 minutes, the foreman heard yelling and went to see what was going on and found the two employees on the floor. Employee #1 suffered a head injury and died. Employee #2 was hospitalized to treat fractured ribs and internal bleeding.

Keywords: Aerial Lift, Blunt force, Blunt force trauma, Fall, Fall From Elevation, Fall Protection, Harness, High Wind, Lost Balance, Metal Sheet, Roof