Inspection Detail

Inspection: 2837375 - Delmarva Forest Products Co

Inspection Information - Office: Department Of Labor, Licensing, And Regulation Division Of Labor And Industry Maryland Occupational Safety And Health

Investigation Summary

Employees #1 and a co-worker were cleaning bark and debris from the surface of the "Starr Deck". This deck transports tree-length logs to a conveyor line and has dimensions of 11 feet in length and 28 and a half feet in width. The deck has a slight incline and is located 8 feet to 12 feet above a concrete surface. Bark from the logs deposits on the deck and interferes or prevents the logs from coming up to the conveyor line in the desired position. This deck has four bays that trap the bark, stretching the entire length of the deck. The inside bays are cleaned by using an "azlec" tractor-loader which is equipped with a front end bucket attachment. The co-worker had "pushed" an inside bay with the equipment and was preparing to push the other inside bay. Employee #1 got into the tractor loader in an effort to push on outside bay with this equipment. Employee #1 lost control of the tractor loader and he could not steer it nor stop it. It traveled over the unguarded edge of the elevated platform of the Starr Deck and pitched him onto the concrete surface below. The tractor loader continued over the elevated platform and fell on Employee #1. He suffered a broken leg, broken ribs, and internal injuries. This Starr Deck was not provided with protective railing to prevent the tractor loader from traveling over the edge. Both operators had received training and had been operating this equipment since 1981.

Keywords: FRACTURE, GUARDRAIL, LOG DECK, RIB, FALL, TRACTOR, LEG