Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1683774.015 - Universal Granite & Marble, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Omaha Area Office

Investigation Summary

At 3:00 p.m. on Jully 17, 2023, an employee and a coworker were loading granite slabs onto a delivery flatbed truck with the use of an overhead gantry crane. Each slab weighs 980 pounds, and the employees were loading two at a time. The crane is equipped with a "grabber clamp" that can close and hold the two slabs and carry them in a standing up position across the facility. The employee was operating the wireless hand-held controller for the crane and the coworker was walking in front of the load as they moved it towards the flatbed truck. The flatbed truck had an "A-Frame" in the bed where the slabs could be placed and leaned back against, so that they would stay in place. The A-Frame is an industry standard piece of equipment that keeps the slab upright and leaned back approximately 9 degrees. The slabs are secured in place with cargo straps prior to moving the truck. The employee used the crane to raise the slabs up and into position on the flatbed truck and onto the A-Frame. The slab appeared to be in its correct position, and the grabber clamp automatically released itself from the slabs, and the only thing left to do was raise the grabber clamp straight up and out of the way. The employee accidentally pressed the side-to-side button instead of the up button. This caused the gantry crane to move the grabber clamp sideways, pulling the slab over and onto the employee. The employee was killed.

Keywords: Crushed, Falling Object, Gantry Crane, Struck By