Inspection Detail

Inspection: 303946644 - Tropicana Products, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Tampa Area Office

Investigation Summary

Employee #1 was employed as a yard spotter. Employee #1's job involved the operation of a yard truck used to move trailers (loaded and unloaded) around the facility, and to move them to and from the Shipping/Warehousing Distribution Center. Employee #1 spotted an inbound (full of product) trailer at door Number 26 to be unloaded, and then went to perform other logistics operations as directed. Approximately two hours later a coworker, who was also a yard spotter, thought that he received directions to move an empty trailer from door Number 26. The coworker hooked up to the trailer and began to move it. The coworker immediately realized that the trailer was not empty, and at the same time he heard the dock leveler drop to the lowered position. The coworker immediately stopped the movement of the trailer, got out of the yard truck, and went back to the loading dock to evaluate the situation. The coworker found that the trailer was loaded, and that he had stopped the trailer approximately 2 ft away from the loading dock. The coworker then went inside the Distribution Center and reset the dock leveler so that he could back the trailer up tight to the loading dock. The coworker walked out of the access door which was right beside the trailer and loading dock door Number 26 (everything was in plain view), and walked back to the yard truck and backed the trailer up tight to the loading dock. The coworker dropped the trailer and he went on to carry out other duties as directed. Unknown to the coworker Employee #1 had walked up to the trailer (from the opposite side that the co-worker was on) and Employee #1 apparently slipped in between the trailer and the loading dock to see what the situation was and why the trailer was away from the dock. Employee #1 apparently got between the trailer and the loading dock at the same time that the coworker was walking back to the yard truck because the coworker never saw Employee #1. Employee #1 was crushed between the trailer and the loading dock and died at the scene.

Keywords: WAREHOUSE, CAUGHT BETWEEN, CRUSHED, TRAILER, LOADING DOCK, INATTENTION