Inspection Detail

Inspection: 310492244 - Signature Flexible Packaging Inc

Inspection Information - Office: Long Beach District Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 10:40 a.m. on July 2, 2008, Employee #1, a machine operator at Signature Flexible Packaging, Inc., was working in the slitting department of the facility where long rolls of polyethylene (measuring approximately 20 inches in diameter) were being cut into shorter rolls (approximately 16 inches wide, weighing approximately 170 pounds), using a slitting machine. After cutting the rolls to size, Employee #1 transferred the rolls from the slitting machine to a pallet using a Columbus McKinnon Corp electric hoist (serial number SS8022SN). The hoist has a 300-pound capacity and is comprised of an electric hoist motor with a hoisting chain connected by a hook to a trolley that rolls along a cantilevered I-beam and attached to a vertical mast. On the vertical mast are two round horizontal bars (upper and lower) onto which the rolls are slid from the slitting machine so they can be rigged with nylon straps to be lifted by the hoist. Employee #1 slid a polyethylene roll onto the upper support bar, positioned the nylon strap and moved the roll off of the bar. After the roll had come off of the bar, Employee #1 had difficulty moving the trolley along the beam. He then pulled with more force several times on the hoist chain at which point the trolley came off of the I-beam causing it and the hoist motor to fall striking him in the head and neck. The plant manager was Employee #1's direct supervisor and was in his office at the facility when the incident occurred. It was determined that the trolley of the hoist had been installed backwards approximately three years prior to the incident, creating too large of a gap between the wheels allowing the trolley to run off of the I-beam.

Keywords: HEAD, STUCK, HOIST, NECK, STRUCK BY, CONCUSSION