Inspection Detail

Inspection: 317187821 - Hunter Woodworks Inc

Inspection Information - Office: Long Beach District Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 11:00 a.m. on November 7, 2013, Employee #1 was working at a wood pallet manufacturing facility. Within the pallet manufacturing operations, there was a sawdust collection system that included several hundred feet of 18 in. diameter pipes that ran from the wood cutting machines to the bag house. Some of these pipes ran above the roof of the different buildings, supported by 6 ft mounts. For one of the buildings, there was an 18 in. pipe that was mounted above its roof, but the roof of this building, being fairly larger than the rest, was constructed with several fiberglass panels of skylight, to allow for added illumination. Employee #1 and a coworker were sent up to the roof using an employee liftcage to cut off the pipe in pieces of about 10 ft so it could be disposed of. Employee #1 was operating the reciprocating saw and a coworker was assisting him and holding parts for him. From the roof outlet of this dust collection system, the pipe was oriented north-south. After severing the outlet from the roof, the two employees proceeded to cut off the other end of the first piece. Employee #1 positioned himself, facing east, and raised the reciprocating saw to cut off the other end of the first piece. From where he was standing, he was situated between two skylights, one behind him and one in front of him. Both skylights were approximately 5 ft away from him. After the last inch of pipe was cut, Employee #1 lost his balance and stumbled forward, ultimately landing on the east skylight. He went through the panel and fell on concrete ground, from an elevation of 15.33 ft and suffered severe head injuries. Employee #1 was not wear fall protection. He was taken to a medical center where he died four days later.

Keywords: SKYLIGHT, ROOF, FALL, UNGUARDED