Inspection Detail

Inspection: 316618198 - Otis Spunkmeyer Inc.

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

Investigation Summary

At approximately 11:20 p.m. on September 19, 2012, Employee #1 was unloading a pallet from a truck that had backed into door 3. Trucks are normally assigned to back in by either the supervisor or foreman on duty. The employee had been instructed to drop one trailer that was full and pick up another that was empty. Upon inspection of the trailer, Employee #1 noticed one pallet still on the truck. The employee backed into door 3 without any instructions from the supervisor or foreman. Once Employee #1 backed in, he informed the shift supervisor that he needed the pallet removed from the back of the truck at dock #3. Since dock #3 had been down for at least four months, they had been referring to dock #4 as door 3. Employee #1 was instructed to unload the truck at door 3. The employee went to dock #3 that was tagged out of service and had Red DANGER tape around the front of it to perform task of unloading the pallet. Employee #1 went between dock plate and door to open roll-up door manually. The employee was standing in an area that has a 10 in. step down from the regular operating area to pit area for the dock plates. The dock is six ft wide by 81 in. tall with a 20 in. articulating lip that was in the upright position. Docks operate off of electrical and hydraulic power and secured in vertical position by a mechanical lock located at the rear of the dock plate. The mechanical lock is normally disengaged from the front side of dock by pulling a ring to disengage. Pins are attached to the plate using a small chain. The pin hangs down beside the mechanical lock. The main electrical controls are located between docks on the wall in the pit area. Roll-up doors are manually opened and closed with an interlock located at the top, which ties into the electrical controls. The dock door did not open completely; therefore, Employee #1 used a 2 ft by 4 ft board. The video of the accident showed that after Employee #1 pushed up on the dock door to raise it completely. As the employee began to withdraw the board, the dock plate collapsed. Employee #1 was caught between the dock plate that weighed between 1000 to 1500 lbs and the floor of the truck and pit area. The employee was pinned under the dock plate for approximately twenty minutes before being discovered by the supervisor. The supervisor notified coworkers in the immediate area and attempted to rescue Employee #1. Approximately fourteen employees physically lifted the 1000 to 1500 lbs dock plate off Employee #1 and secured it in the upright position using a forklift and chains. Employee #1 was checked for vitals but none was found. Emergency Medical Services and police were called. Employee #1 was pronounced dead at the scene. The coroner's reports stated that Employee #1 died from asphyxiation secondary to a crushing incident.

Keywords: ASPHYXIATED, DOCK, PIN, CAUGHT BETWEEN, TRUCK, PALLET, TRAILER, DOOR