Inspection Detail

Inspection: 304174261 - Boise Cascade Corporation

Inspection Information - Office: Bend

Investigation Summary

At approximately 7:25 p.m. on January 7, 2002, Employee #1 was operating a forklift truck, carrying a unit of particleboard to the sander in-feed, when he stopped in front of another unit of particleboard, which was located on the out-feed roller conveyor at the Number 1 Sander. He dismounted the forklift truck and hurried around the end of the carried unit and began moving the bolsters from the carried unit (which had been in storage) to the other unit (which was destined for storage). Bolsters serve as spacers between stacked units in storage. The employee had transferred four of the six bolsters when the forklift rolled forward and the carried unit of particleboard pressed against the employee's leg, crushing his leg (between the knee and the ankle) against the end of one of the sections of the roller conveyor that serve as the out-feed conveyor at the stacker. Employee #1 was pinned, for a short time, until a coworker was able to back the forklift away. Employee #1 sustained a crushing and tearing injury to the tissues of his leg and a fracture of the bone. First aid was administered at the scene and he was transported by ambulance to a local hospital. Evidence indicates that the parking brake was not fully applied, which allowed the forklift to roll forward.

Keywords: BRAKE, ROLLER CONVEYOR, CAUGHT BETWEEN, CRUSHED, INDUSTRIAL TRUCK, CONVEYOR, LEG