Inspection Detail

Inspection: 310845771 - Wer Corporation Dba Aluminum Alloys, Incorporated

Inspection Information - Office: Harrisburg Area Office

Investigation Summary

On July 12, 2008, two maintenance workers were replacing a screen on a rotary drum in a foundry. The rotary drum had an 11 ft high fixed metal platform at the hopper end and a 10 ft high fixed metal platform at the exit end. While removing panels and the old screen from the rotary drum, they stood on a wooden 2-in. by 10-in. by 12 ft long plank. The plank rested on the metal platforms at the hopper and exit ends. To install the new screen, one worker went inside the rotary drum while the other worked from the wooden plank. Employee #1, the maintenance supervisor, came to inspect the work and to discuss how to patch a hole in the rotary drum's screen. He stepped onto the wooden plank with the coworker. They both moved to the end of the wooden plank at the hopper end. The wooden plank fell, dropping both the coworker and Employee #1 to the floor. The Coworker received a sprained ankle in the fall, but his injury was not recorded. Employee #1 struck his head on an adjacent piece of equipment and died.

Keywords: HEAD, MAINTENANCE, UNSECURED, PLANK, FALL, CONCUSSION, SCAFFOLD