Inspection Detail

Inspection: 302615554 - Citation Marion

Inspection Information - Office: Mobile Area Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 5:00 a.m. on September 26, 1999, Employee #1, a maintenance helper at a gray iron foundry, had gone to a charge platform with his supervisor to unjam a skip hoist bucket that had become stuck after emptying its load into the charge feeder. The supervisor was in the charge feeder on the north side of the bucket, attempting to secure the bucket to prevent it from dropping down the track when it was freed. Employee #1 went to the south side of the bucket, near the hoist winch, and was standing on one of the slack cable tensioning arms that had dropped against the bucket. When the supervisor saw him on the tensioning arm, he yelled for him to get off it. Employee #1 was stepping away from the bucket and onto a support beam in front of the winch when the bucket broke loose and free-fell 38 ft down the track. When the dust and dirt cloud created by the falling bucket cleared, Employee #1 was found lying in the bottom of it. Apparently, he lost his footing and fell into the bucket as it dropped. Evidence at the site indicated that Employee #1's head struck the seventh cross-tie from the ground, approximately 31 ft down the track from the charge area. He died of a fractured skull.

Keywords: FRACTURE, HOISTING MECHANISM, WORK RULES, STRUCK AGAINST, SKULL, FALL, FOUNDRY, FALLING OBJECT, INATTENTION