Inspection Detail

Inspection: 300395100 - Be&K Construction Company

Inspection Information - Office: Baton Rouge Area Office

Investigation Summary

Employee #1 was working in a ground wood mill operation that consisted of four grinders fed by a Kone conveyor system. Three grinders were running while the #3 grinder was shut down for rebuilding. Loading the grinders required a production operator to create an opening in the conveyor system that would allow logs to fall onto a sinking board. Each time the opening occurred, the entire Kone system from the opening point to the main air cylinder moved approximately 24 in. Loading wood into the #1 and #2 grinders required moving the Kone system to a point directly above the #3 grinder. To protect personnel working in the #3 grinder feeder chute from falling logs, the conveyor opening over #3 was locked shut. At the time of the accident, a production operator was loading wood into the #1, #2, and #4 grinders. The operator had completed loading wood into the #2 grinder's front pocket and closed the Kone conveyor. This caused the entire system to move 24 in. over the #3 grinder chute, creating a 5.42-ft space between the bottom of the grinder feeder chute and the Kone conveyor's underframe. Employee #1 had been aligning the sinking board guide on the #3 north grinder chute. When the 6.17-ft-tall employee rose from a squatting position, his head became pinned between the moving underframe and a structural I-beam. He was killed. Expanded metal was subsequently tack-welded under the conveyor to prevent any further contact with any pinch points.

Keywords: GRINDER, HEAD, WORK RULES, CRUSHED, CONVEYOR, MILL--PLANT, UNGUARDED