Inspection Detail

Inspection: 307394189 - Safway Services, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: San Francisco District Office

Investigation Summary

At 2:00 p.m. on November 7, 2005, Employee #1 and coworkers were dismantling a suspended scaffold that was approximately 20 ft off the ground. There was no access provided to the scaffold, so the workers were using a Terex rough-terrain forklift, model TH528, to reach the scaffold, which they then accessed through an L-shaped opening in its floor. Planks were loosely placed across the tines of the forklift for use as a standing platform. Employee #1 was descending from the scaffold and holding onto the back plate of the forks when they moved upward toward an overhead bridge beam, pinching the fingers on both his hands. Employee #1 was transported to the hospital, where his treatment included skin graft surgeries on his fingers. Subsequent investigation revealed that the job foreman was not onsite at the time of the accident. In addition, the workers were using the forklift as a work platform without any form of fall protection. No basket with guardrails was being used, although the opening in the scaffold would have accommodated one. The employer was cited for violations of T8CCR 3657(a), conditions for elevating employees from lift trucks; T8CCR 3657(i), operating rules when elevating personnel; and T8CCR 3668(d)(2), forklift refresher evaluations.

Keywords: DISMANTLING, FINGER, WORK RULES, CONSTRUCTION, CAUGHT BETWEEN, INDUSTRIAL TRUCK, FALL PROTECTION, ELEVATED WORK PLAT, WORK PLATFORM, SCAFFOLD