A Fatal Fall In A Plant

Falls are still one of the top 3 causes of death in the work place. This is a story about a 59 year old man just doing his job. He died and we will not know if it had been done this way before or if he said to himself I am just doing this once.
Read through the brief description and see if you can find 2 of the 3 violations that this company was sited for. If you send me back an e-mail with at least 2 of the 3 violations by code # and a brief description of what the code says I will send you a flash drive.
If you need help around your plant doing a walk through with a fresh set of eyes we will be happy to do this. This is a service that CH Bull does at no cost to you to help you see possible OSHA violations you may have over looked. Please fell free to contact me if we can help you with on site training or would like to do a plant “walk about” as they say down under.
Andy Bull
Co-CEO CH Bull Co
Direct phone 650-837-8406
Cell phone 415-716-5583
e-mail abull@chbullco.com

A maintenance mechanic for a foundry used a portable ladder to gain access to a press platen and fell 15 feet to his death last September. DOSH has cited the employer for several alleged serious violations in connection with the incident.
The man, 59, suffered multiple head fractures in the Sept. 3, 2011 incident and was pronounced dead at a local hospital. He had worked at the company for 30 years and part of his duties included repairing machinery. At the time of the incident, he was replacing the cylinder seals on a 40,000-ton press to repair an oil leak.
The worker had handed tools to other workers from the pump room floor to the press platen, then climbed over a guardrail separating the pump room and the platen. The two areas were divided by a 28-inch gap and there was a more-than-15-foot distance to the surface below.
The man placed a portable fiberglass stepladder horizontally across the gap and was using it as a gangway when he fell into the press service pit.

Posted 1/16/12