Inspection Detail

Inspection: 316617893 - Belton Metal Company Inc

Inspection Information - Office: Sc Department Of Labor, Licensing, And Regulation

Investigation Summary

On September 14, 2012, Employee #1, a 47-year-old male with Belton Metal Company Inc., was performing his normal work duties of cutting up scrap metal with a torch and stopping periodically to direct truck drivers in backing their vehicles to the appropriate location to dump the scrap waste at the Belton Metal Facility. Employee #1 was struck by a Caterpillar 325D Material Handler, number CAT0325DVRJK00158 which was 13.9-feet-wide, 39.26-feet-long, weighed 78,321 pounds with a track width of 24-inches. Employee #1 had positioned himself to the operators' right side, the "blinder side", of the excavator when the magnet arm is extended. The excavator crushed Employee #1 from his feet to the upper torso. Employee #1 was killed in the event. Although there were no eye witnesses, evidence of body position and location seem to indicate that Employee #1 may have been propped or leaning on the track of the excavator itself. When the excavator moved forward it knocked Employee #1 to the ground with such force and so quick it rendered him unable to escape. A demonstration with management in a Class II vest revealed that Employee #1 position was not visible to the operator. All safety devices and the vehicle itself were in proper working condition at the time of the inspection and the driver had been trained and was operating the vehicle using the proper precautions. High visibility garments were not required by the employer to be worn. Belton was a scrap metal facility that picks up metal waste from its clients, cuts the waste into requested sizes and ships it off to smelters for recycling.

Keywords: SCRAPER, PIN, PINNED, EARTHMOVING EQUIP, TORSO, CRUSHED, STRUCK BY