Inspection Detail

Inspection: 314753930 - National Steel And Ship Building Co

Inspection Information - Office: High Hazard Unit - South

Investigation Summary

At 2:15 p.m. on November 22, 2010, Employee #1 was working as a Foreman for a shipbuilding facility. He was put in charge of the facilities shipfitters. The crew was finishing the day's work, completing the replacement of individual components of a vessel section. Each component weighed more than a ton and had been moved at the beginning of the day, in order to weld a large deck seam. While Employee #1 was standing near a T-beam steel section, measuring approximately 11-inches wide by 18 inches-tall by 20-feet long, and weighing 3,875 pounds, that would be part of the vessel's final deck assembly, an adjacent box girder section was being repositioned by a crane operator. During the maneuvering, the T-beam section fell over and landed on top of Employee #1's left foot. The crane was immediately repositioned and attached to the T-beam to remove it from Employee #1's foot. Employee #1 was taken to UCSD Medical Center, where he was hospitalized and underwent surgery to amputate his left foot. The accident investigation determined that the accident occurred due to the T-beam section, where Employee #1 was standing, was unsupported on the side to which it fell. Instead, it was set between two box sections, prior to commencing welding. However, at some point, one of the box sections was moved, leaving the 2-foot long T-beam to rest on its narrow edge, measuring approximately 1 inch wide. Further, its center or gravity was at the top, making the section very unstable. Therefore, when Employee #1 came into contact with the beam during the crane lift of the adjacent box section, it fell over, injuring Employee #1.

Keywords: STEEL BEAM, AMPUTATED, SUSPENDED LOAD, CRUSHED, FALLING OBJECT, CRANE, FOOT, UNSTABLE LOAD