Inspection Detail

Inspection: 309270130 - Emerson Trailers, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Tampa Area Office

Investigation Summary

On July 28, 2005, Employee #1, a versatile employee who did various jobs of Emerson Trailers, Incorporated, was welding trailer gates. He was welding using a Wire Feed, Arc Welding Machine. Employee #2 was in the room, but did not observe what happened. He stated he heard Employee #1 cry out. When he turned around, Employee #1 was on the floor. Other coworkers ran to see what happened and two coworkers started administering CPR. Emergency services arrived, took over CPR, and transported Employee #1 to the hospital, where he later died. An investigation into the incident found that the welding machine was in the "on" position, and that the 50 Amp electrical breaker, which served the circuit to the welding machine, had been tripped. It was noted that Employee #1 did not have his welding hood on. He did have his work gloves on, but the welding gun was not in his hand. The OSHA investigation revealed that the electrical conductors (2 hot and 1 neutral), inside of the male attachment plug for the welding machine, were not securely connected to their terminal points. The visible evidence of burns inside of the attachment plug and the melting of the individual strands of the neutral conductor indicated that the neutral conductor came out of its terminal point inside of the attachment plug and it made contact with a hot (energized) wire that was also inside of the attachment plug. This contact allowed current to flow through the neutral conductor and back down to the equipment grounding attachment location, which was on the metal frame inside of the welding machine. The frame of the welding machine became energized and so did any metal parts of the welding machine that were in contact with the metal frame. The welding machine was sitting on the floor next to a tin wall, when the incident occurred. There were two electrical burn marks on the tin wall, which matched up perfectly with two electrical burn marks that were on the side of the welding machine which was facing towards the tin wall. It was believed that Employee #1 made contact with the energized welding machine and he received an initial electrical shock. He either fell against the welding machine, causing it to hit the tin wall or both Employee #1 and the welding machine hit the tin wall. When the energized welding machine made contact with the tin wall an, electrical short circuit would have been created that would be sufficient to cause the fifty (50) Amp circuit breaker to trip out.

Keywords: BURN, ELECTROCUTED, WELDER, WELDING, ELECTRIC SHOCK, UNTRAINED