Inspection Detail

Inspection: 301132551 - Owens-Brockway

Inspection Information - Office: Oakland District Office

Investigation Summary

On April 17, 2002, Employee #1 was assigned to clear broken glass and other debris from a catch screen beneath an elevated conveyor belt, known as the E-1 Incline Conveyor, near the west end of the building. The screen was approximately 9 feet above floor level. The employee accessed the work area using an elevating work platform. Both the Health and Safety Director and the Industrial Relations Director stated that this is the common practice used to reach the screens to clean them. Employee #1 positioned the elevating platform so that the working level was slightly below the screen. He removed his fall protection harness and climbed between the top rail and the mid rail of the aerial platform onto the catch screen. Near completion of the task of removing debris from beneath the conveyor, his supervisor called for him to come down and perform a different task. The employee responded by asking the supervisor to turn off the conveyor so he could remove debris from the side of the conveyor. Employee #1 then stepped up onto the side rail of the conveyor with his right foot and his left leg was extended beneath him. He was then approximately 12 feet above the floor level. A transfer car (Kaufman Automatic Transfer Car, Serial Number 1171) used to transport palletized material, was moving toward the employee traveling from West to East. When the car reached the employee's position, the power arm (which extends upward to a height of approximately 10 feet) caught the employee's leg and trapped it against the undercarriage of the conveyor. The transfer car continued on its track and fractured the employee's left leg. The employee then fell onto the catch screen. He was removed from the screen by supervisory personnel who summoned emergency medical services. He was hospitalized.

Keywords: FRACTURE, SCREEN, CLEANING, LOCKOUT, CAUGHT BETWEEN, STRUCK BY, CONVEYOR BELT, AERIAL LIFT, LEG