Inspection Detail

Inspection: 17371733 - Dixon Lumber Co

Inspection Information - Office: Va-E-Abingdon (Field Office) - Safety 0355110

Investigation Summary

Employee #1 was lifting three bales of hardwood flooring from a stack of six tiers. The top bale of hardwood flooring, which extended over the load backrest, was 33 in. high by 10 ft long, and weighed 2,800 lb. When Employee #1 tilted the load back, the top bail fell into the overhead guard, which bent and broke. Employee #1 was crushed and killed. According to the vice president and general manager, Employee #1 had for some reason selected a lift truck not normally used in the warehouse to lift hardwood flooring. The vice president reported that the lift truck operators had been instructed and trained to lift only one or two bales of hardwood at a time. Two employees who worked in the warehouse before Employee #1 confirmed that they had been instructed to use the 7000 lb Clark lift truck and lift no more than two bales at once. These interview statements are a part of this case file.

Keywords: IND TRK OPERATOR, WORK RULES, LOAD SHIFT, OVERLOADED, EQUIPMENT FAILURE, CRUSHED, INDUSTRIAL TRUCK, UNSTABLE LOAD