Inspection Detail

Inspection: 2858793 - Commerce Distributors Inc

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

Investigation Summary

At approximately 7:25 a.m. on May 7, 1985, an employee was operating a lift truck (Model 3K RRTT, Serial Number W-25534, and 3500 lb capacity) to position nestainers (Dimension 71.5 in. by 56.5 in. by 59 in.) upon one another. The employee was informed earlier not to lift more than one nestainer at a time because the 2nd one would be above the backrest of the forks and above the mast. He disregarded the instructions and placed two nestainers on top of a third nestainer in the storage area. One was empty and one was loaded with about 25 to 90 bags of fertilizer. He placed the full nestainer on top of the empty one then lifted both to an approximately a height of 7 feet; in order to place them on top of a third nestainer. This maneuver placed the loaded frame above the fork backrest and mast. As he tilted the mast backward before lowering the load onto the third frame, the bags of fertilizer, a pallet, and the frame slid over the mast onto the protective head frame of the truck. He leapt from the truck and ran into nearby nestainers causing him to stumble and fall bruising his right leg and striking his head on the floor. The causal factor of the accident was a failure to obey verbal instructions resulting in the employee receiving minor injuries.

Keywords: HEAD, INDUSTRIAL TRUCK, OFF LOADING, STORAGE RACK, LEG