Inspection Detail

Inspection: 310064894 - Unicco Service Co Dba Ugl Unicco

Inspection Information - Office: Oakland District Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 3:30 p.m. on August 8, 2008, Employee #1, a mechanic, was assisting a crew in performing a belt changeover at the Airport Facility. The day shift crew had already begun the process and the swing shift crew joined in to help complete the job. Employee #1 took over pulling the rope that was looped through a belt clamp attached to the old belt to be removed. Three coworkers were helping to pull the rope behind while Employee #1 was feeding and operating the "tugger". As the crew continued to pull the rope through, the belt somehow bound-up. The belt clamp came loose and catapulted 50 ft towards the crew and striking Employee #1 in both his legs below the knees. It was determined that there was some undetected FOD (which are foreign objects such as scrap material or paper) that became caught in the crevices of the conveyor frame work. This caused the conveyor belt to bind-up and added tension to the rope the employees were pulling. Despite employees continually checking for FOD, the FOD was initially stuck in an area that was not visible and was wedged tightly between the tail roller and conveyor belt and traveled as the belt was being pulled through causing the belt to bunch up against the frame. Employee #1 sustained a left medial tibia fracture and underwent surgery. Employee #1 was hospitalized for four days.

Keywords: FRACTURE, MAINTENANCE, BELT, JAMMED, ROLLER--MACH/PART, CONVEYOR, STRUCK BY, FLYING OBJECT, LEG