Inspection Detail

Inspection: 317445468 - Nichols Aluminum

Inspection Information - Office: Iowa 0751910

Investigation Summary

On November 1, 2013, Employee #1, a 59-year-old male with Nichols Aluminum, was moving slit aluminum coil from the slitting cell to the packing turnstile on the rewind coil car. The car was loaded with one (14 in. wide, 48 in. long) coil on the left side and two (2 in. wide, 48 in. long) on the right side. The coils were held in place by a safety arm on each side of the vertical coils otherwise they would fail over without being held by the arm in the up-right position. Employee #1 stopped the car midway between the machines, to measure the circumference of the coils and to choose the proper packing skid. To do this, Employee #1 had to lift the safety arm. Employee#1 was standing out in front of the car when he lifted the right hand (front) safety arm when the two (2 in. wide, 48 in. long) coils fell off the cart, knocking the employee to the floor and landing on him. Employee #1 broke his elbow in the fall and when the coils landed on him, he sustained a broken pelvis and hip. There were no witnesses to the accident, although four coworkers were working in the area at the time of the incident. It was reported to OSHA that, Employee #1 had been trained by the Employer and by fellow workers not to lift the safety arms, until the coils were positioned on the turnstile. In addition, workers were trained to always stand at the side of the car while moving coils between the two machines. Employee #1 had worked this job for approximately fourteen months after his transfer from the paint department due to a plant lay-off. Employee #1 had worked in the paint department for approximately twenty-five years prior to the new assignment.

Keywords: FRACTURE, PELVIS, STRUCK BY, ELBOW, FALLING OBJECT, HIP