Inspection Detail

Inspection: 316345669 - Compass Group Usa Inc Dba Canteen Vending

Inspection Information - Office: Monrovia District Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 12:00 p.m. on December 18, 2012, Employee #1, with Compass Group Usa Inc. Dba Canteen Vending, was removing an old soda vending machine (Model Number: 540 Pepsi machine) from the mechanic department's break room and replacing it with a newer soda machine that was located in another area of the customer's site. The mechanic's shop area was wet because it had been raining, and the pallet jack was wet. Employee #1 was working with a coworker, and they were using a manual pallet jack (Lift-Rite). Employee #1 and the coworker asked for assistance to tilt the old vending machine because the machine was fully loaded and was stuck to the floor by grease and syrup. Another coworker assisted Employee #1 and the original coworker in tilting the machine. The machine was loaded onto the pallet jack on it's side and was rolled out of the break room through a doorway and into another area (approximately 43 ft away from the original location). Employee #1 was instructed by his original coworker to reposition the vending machine on the pallet jack to roll it out to the truck. After being tilted, a coworker pulled the manual pallet jack out from underneath the machine and it slipped and fell onto Employee #1's left leg. Employee #1 was taken to the hospital. The causes of the accident were: unsafe work practices associated with lifting heavy materials; no established safe procedures for the practice; and, no provision of training to employees. The employer did not have effective procedures for lifting vending machines. In addition, periodic inspections to identify unsafe conditions were not conducted.

Keywords: FRACTURE, PALLET, SLIPPERY SURFACE, STRUCK BY, FALLING OBJECT, JACK, UNTRAINED, LEG, MACHINE--MISC, UNSTABLE LOAD