Inspection Detail

Inspection: 316629500 - Randstad Us, Lp

Inspection Information - Office: Iowa 0751910

Investigation Summary

On July 17, 2012, Employee #1 was working as a contract laborer working for the contract employer Ranstad US, LP. He had been assigned to work at a General Mills, Inc., facility in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Randstad provided contract labor for the cereal packaging area. Employee #1 was the lead worker for the second shift. General Mills was testing a new box material using line 3A in cereal packaging. Stickers were normally placed on "cubes," which were pallet-size shrink-wrapped boxes at a fixed location designated for the activity. Stickers or labels notified the shipping department not to ship the test materials. Employee #1 had just started working. The narrative did not further distinguish that comment by noting whether Employee #1 had just commenced his shift or his assignment at General Mills. He noticed one cube that was not labeled. The unlabeled cube had bypassed the labeling station. Employee #1 moved down the line to place the sticker on the cube. The package was situated on a "T-car." T-cars, or transfer cars, transported material inside the facility. The T-car went into motion, creating a pinch point that crushed Employee #1. He was crushed between a stationary barrier pole and a 4-inch by 4-inch (102-millimeter by 102-millimeter) steel beam on a T-car. The stationary barrier pole was made of concrete. It was 6.5 inches (165 millimeters) in diameter and 49.25 inches (1.25 meters) tall. Employee #1 was killed.

Keywords: CHEST, FRACTURE, LOCKOUT, CAUGHT BETWEEN, CRUSHED, CONVEYOR, ELDERLY, MECH MAT HANDLING, PALLET, MACHINE--MISC