Inspection Detail

Inspection: 302936208 - Stalite Management,Inc. Dba Carolina Stalite,Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Nc Department Of Labor - Winston-Salem

Investigation Summary

At approximately 5:00 p.m. on July 10, 2000, Employees #1 and #2 were working from a personnel basket attached to the forks of a forklift while they were disassembling a homemade air-cylinder hoist. The top and mid-rails on both ends of the basket had been removed to accommodate the length of the hoist on the platform. The forklift operator then raised the basket under the hoist to support the weight of the hoist on the toeboards of the basket. Employees #1 and #2 removed the wheels along which the hoist moved on the monorail and, once it was loose, they removed the chains holding the hoist to the monorail. As the forklift operator began lowering the forks with the hoist, the personnel basket, and the employees, the hoist shifted to one side and caught on the toeboard of the basket. The weight of the shifting hoist caused the forklift to tip over. When the forklift started to tip, Employee #2 jumped out of the basket and grabbed the monorail above. He then fell 21 ft to the ground. Employee #1 rode the basket down, jumping out at the last minute and landing in the bottom of a 6 ft deep pit. The forklift operator had not known that the forklift was tipping over but had jumped out of the operator's seat when the controls of the hoist swung him. Employee #2 was taken to a local hospital and released the next afternoon. Employee #1 was flown by helicopter to Baptist Medical Center. He was released 10 days later.

Keywords: UNSECURED, WORK RULES, LOAD SHIFT, INDUSTRIAL TRUCK, MECH MAT HANDLING, OVERTURN, PERSONNEL CAGE, DISMANTLING, HOIST, FALL