NIOSHTIC-2 Publications Search

Wood fabricating assembler died after being crushed by a wooden flange in California.

Public Health Institute

Morgantown, WV: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, FACE 95CA005, 1995 Dec; :1-3

https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/face/stateface/ca/95ca005.html

20027048

A 42-year-old male, Hispanic wood fabricating assembler (the victim) died when a wooden flange he was attempting to roll to an assembly rack (jig) fell over and crushed him. The flange was 92" in diameter and weighed approximately 350 pounds. It was being rolled manually 25 feet to the assembly area where it was to become part of a reel or spool used to store wire. The victim's employer stated that rolling flanges was the typical method used to move them from the entrance way to the jig. The employer also stated that the victim was familiar with the hazards involved in rolling the flange. The concrete surface on which the flange was being rolled was flat, but was wet from recent rains. Though there were no witnesses to the incident, a co-worker in the general vicinity heard a loud noise when the flange fell to the ground. He ran to see what had happened and discovered the victim underneath the flange. The co-worker lifted the flange from the victim's head and summoned emergency services to the scene. Fire department paramedics arrived in approximately 5 minutes and transported the victim to a community hospital where he was later pronounced dead. The CA/FACE investigator concluded that in order to prevent similar future occurrences, employers should: 1. evaluate their manual materials handling procedures assuring that safe methods are used. 2. conduct job safety analyses on all tasks in order to identify potential hazards before initiating and continuing work at a job site. Once hazards have been identified, appropriate corrective actions should be taken. 3. implement and maintain a written Injury & Illness Prevention Program (IIPP) which addresses the hazards associated with, and the specific safety training necessary for materials handling.

Region-9; Accident-analysis; Accident-prevention; Accidents; Injuries; Injury-prevention; Traumatic-injuries; Work-operations; Work-analysis; Work-areas; Work-performance; Work-practices; Safety-education; Safety-equipment; Safety-measures; Safety-monitoring; Protective-measures; Training; Woodworkers; Woodworking; Woodworking-industry

19951206

Field Studies; Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation

Cooperative Agreement

1996

PB2007-112115

A01

FACE-95CA005; Cooperative-Agreement-Number-U60-CCU-907284

NAICS-32

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

CA; WV

Public Health Institute