Inspection Detail

Inspection: 107091811 - Farmers Grain Terminal Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Jackson Area Office

Investigation Summary

Two employees were working together to empty corn from a 125,000-bushel, round, metal grain storage bin. A sweep auger was in the bottom of bin to extract the grain (corn). One of the employees had just climbed a 4.5-meter ladder mounted on the outside of the bin to an elevated platform. The platform provided access to the larger of two square bin openings and to a 480-volt motor controller. The employees had earlier run a flexible cord from the 480-volt, 7.5-horsepower, three-phase drive motor for the auger, which was located inside the bin, to the motor controller, which was mounted outside. The employee on the platform reconnected the plug on the motor's power supply cord into a cord connector extending from the bottom of the motor controller box and resumed pulling corn out of the bottom of the bin. His coworker had positioned himself at the lowest bin opening, which measured 480 by 480 millimeters. These two openings were separated by a bin stiffener and by distances of 1.1 meters horizontally and at least 3.6 meters vertically. The lower employee was standing on a short 910-millimeter ladder, leaning over the opening with his head and shoulders inside the bin so that he could look inside. He yelled up to the other employee, asking him to swing over the auxiliary pendent control. This was a yellow, Square D pushbutton control (type BW75Y, Series C) connected by a 5.9-meter-long cord (type SJ, three-conductor, AWG No. 16). The lower employee offered to operate the bin's auger from the bottom bin opening until quitting time to allow his coworker a chance to come down from the elevated platform. The employee on the platform swung the cord toward the lower employee, who was electrocuted when he grabbed the cord with his left hand.

Keywords: ELECTRICAL, E GI VII, ELECTROCUTED, GROUND FAULT, EQUIPMENT GROUNDING, ELECTRIC CORD, ELECTRICAL BOX