UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Text For Citation: 03 Item/Group: 001 Hazard: STRUCK BY

Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970: The employer did not furnish employment and a place of employment which were free from recognized hazards that were causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees in that employees were exposed to: a)Employees walking, working, and operating powered industrial trucks in trailers at the terminal dock were exposed to the hazard of falling in or from trailers, or being struck by falling cargo in the trailers, due to trailers being inadvertently pulled from the dock while employees were still inside. Among others, feasible and acceptable means to correct this hazard would be: A. Take steps to develop a means to identify trailers, from outside the dock, that were not closed out / safe to be moved. ( At the time of the inspection a chain was placed across the trailer doors indicating that it was not to be entered, but the chain was not visible from outside the dock.) B. Take steps to label / identify dock doors so that door numbers can be read from outside the dock while a trailer is parked at the door. ( At the time of the inspection, dock door numbers on the outside of the dock were not blocked from view when a trailer was parked in front of the door.) C. Take steps to re-paint lines identifying lanes on the pavement in front of dock doors and include door numbers with the lane markings. ( At the time of the inspection, lane lines painted on the pavement in front of the doors were faded ? illegible and the lines were not identified as to which door they corresponded with.) D. Take steps to label the dock doors so that they can be readily identified from inside the dock. ( At the time of the inspection, door numbers were not marked inside the dock except by a computer display on a monitor mounted between two dock doors. The monitor displayed one of two door numbers, rather than both.) A. Adequate steps were not taken to ensure that safe switching procedures such as referring to the trailer #, in addition to the door #, to designate a trailer to be moved from the dock, and or developing a means to identify trailers, from outside the dock, that were not closed out / safe to be moved. B. Adequate steps were not taken to label / identify dock doors.Dock door numbers on the outside of the dock were blocked from view when a trailer was parked in front of the door.Lighting was inadequate to read door numbers after dark on doors that did, or did not have a trailer parked in front.Lines and door numbers were not legibly marked on the pavement in front of the dock doors. Door numbers were not marked inside the dock except by a computer display on a monitor that displayed one of two door numbers, rather than both. Among others, feasible and acceptable means to correct this hazard would be: To establish switching procedures such as referring to the trailer and door # of trailers ready / to be moved, and or developing a means, visible from outside the dock, to identify trailers ready / safe to moved. To label the dock doors so that they can be readily identified when a trailer is parked in front of the door. To label the doors so that they can be readily identified from inside or outside the dock during daylight or evening hours. To paint lines and door numbers on the pavement in front of the dock doors. b) Employees operating powered industrial trucks were exposed to the hazard of being caught beneath / struck by the truck or overhead guard in the event of truck tipover in that the employees operating the lift trucks were not protected by seat belts or an equivalent restraint system. Among other methods, one feasible and acceptable method to correct this hazard would be, in accordance with ASME B56.1 The American National Standard for Powered and Nonpowered Industrial Trucks, to install and require the use of, either the seat belt system that was designed and installed as original equipment for these types of lift trucks, or an equivalent operator restraint system.