Inspection Detail

Inspection: 304708274 - Standard Concrete Products, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Tampa Area Office

Investigation Summary

At 6:00 p.m. on August 21, 2001, Employee #1 was performing his duties as an experienced groundman or rigger for one of the production department's four MI-JACK material handling Travelifts. His duties required him to accompany or walk alongside his assigned Travelift to help guide the Travelift, hookup and unhook loads, and to perform other tasks, as needed. Employee #1's duties are associated with the movement of the prestressed concrete beams and piles, at the pouring beds and throughout the storage yard. As the Travelift was preparing to shutdown and be secured for the day, the Travelift was straddling the storage yard aisle. It had approached the section of the yard where the spreader beam would be stored for the night. The spreader beam was lowered to the ground and Employee #1 unhooked the spreader beam from the crane. Employee #1 walked out of the storage aisle and was standing by the lift's right side, outside of the right side rear steering wheels of the Travelift. He gave the Travelift operator a visual communication to begin traveling west down through the yard aisle. The Travelift had only moved approximately 50 to 75 feet west when a second groundman or rigger, who was spotting for a second Travelift that was approximately 100 yards east, or behind, the first Travelift, called the first Travelift on the radio. The second rigger told the operator to stop moving because the inside of the right side rear steering wheels of the Travelift were too close to the prestressed concrete beams that were stored in the aisle. The Travelift operator stopped his movement and when he looked over to his right, as the second rigger was approaching, he saw Employee #1 lying on the ground between the right rear steering wheels and a large prestressed concrete beam that was stored on the outside of the aisle. Employee #1 also had radio communication with the Travelift operator, but there was no indication that anything was wrong or that he was in any kind of trouble. Employee #1 sustained fatal injuries when he was caught and pinned between the inside of the rear steering wheels of the Travelift and a stored prestressed concrete beam.

Keywords: PINNED, CONCRETE BEAM, MOBILE CRANE, CAUGHT BETWEEN, CRUSHED