Inspection Detail

Inspection: 307334474 - Old World German Sausage Company

Inspection Information - Office: Oakland District Office

Investigation Summary

An employee was working as a helper for a sausage company. He was hired to hang meat in smoke chambers. The chambers were two 44-foot long stainless steel shipping containers that were turned on their ends. They were 8-feet wide by 8-feet long by 40-feet tall. These two containers were refrigerated and were sitting on a concrete slab. A third container was adjacent to the smoke chambers and was used as a control room and laboratory. Inside one of the chambers, a frame was constructed of 2-in by 4-in studs. These studs were attached horizontally to three of the walls. They were spaced approximately 16 inches apart. The studs started at 10 feet high and rose to a height of 30 feet. Additional studs were installed perpendicularly to form a grid inside the smoke chamber. Raw meat was hung from the perpendicular studs by hooks. The meat was first hung on the bottom row of the grid, and then employees would stand on top of the bottom row to reach the second row. This continued until all grids were used. The employee had climbed up the grid and was standing on a piece of particle board. This board was located approximately 25 feet high in the chamber. The board broke and the employee fell onto the metal floor of the smoke chamber. He was hospitalized with a fractured right elbow.

Keywords: FRACTURE, FALL, ELBOW, ELEVATED WORK PLAT, WORK SURFACE