Inspection Detail

Inspection: 301992640 - Ico Worldwide Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Baton Rouge Area Office

Investigation Summary

On September 9, 1998, Employee #1, a truck driver with Ace Transportation, Inc., had hauled thirteen 11 7/8 in. diameter by 42 ft long pipe casing joints to the ICO Worldwide, Inc., pipe yard in Amelia, LA. The lift operator, fully trained on the large Case 821B front end loader and with 15 years experience at ICO, was unloading the truck and placing the 2,900 lb casing joints on rack MO8 in the yard. The Case loader was equipped with 8 in. wide forks approximately 8 ft long and 7 ft 6 in. apart. The operator had made several trips to and from the truck and planned to grab the remaining three joints of pipe on his last trip. He placed them on the forks, raised the load high enough to clear the 4 ft high stops on the side of the flatbed trailer, and was looking to the rear as he backed away from the right side of the truck when he heard the pipe start to fall from the forks. Meanwhile, Employee #1 had approached the trailer on the driver's side and was adjusting the tie-downs on the truck. The operator had seen him in the area and had warned him to get away from the truck before he picked up the last load. When the load dropped, the three joints rolled onto the left side of the truck and struck Employee #1. He died of complications following surgery to amputate his crushed legs. The pipes were balanced across the forks ands were not restrained. Since the accident, both Ace Transportation and ICO have initiated policies to have the drivers stand at one end of the truck where the lift operator can see them during the unloading operation.

Keywords: AMPUTATED, UNSECURED, WORK RULES, LOAD SHIFT, CRUSHED, INDUSTRIAL TRUCK, MECH MAT HANDLING, OFF LOADING, STRUCK BY, LEG