A 49-year old male maintenance welder (decedent) died when he was run over and crushed by a forklift. The decedent and his co-worker had loaded oxyacetylene and electric arc welding units onto an electric cart. The decedent drove the cart as they proceeded to their destination down a roadway located in the facility's concrete pipe storage area. As they were traveling west they encountered a forklift traveling east on the same roadway. Just before the electric cart and forklift passed each other, the forklift driver turned left into the cart. The decedent and his co-worker were thrown from the cart. The forklift ran over the decedent. The co-worker was thrown clear of the forklift's path and received cuts and bruises. The forklift was being driven with the load held high. The electric cart did not have a high warning flag to increase its visibility. The CA/FACE investigator determined that, in order to prevent future occurrences, employers should as part of their Injury and Illness Prevention Program (IIPP): (1) ensure employees drive forklifts with the forks as low to the ground as is safe. (2) equip electric carts and similar small vehicles with high warning flags. Manufacturers and/or employers should: (3) equip electric carts and similar small vehicles with a rollover protective structure and seat belts.
Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Report for California: Maintenance Welder Dies When His Electric Car is Struck By a Forklift
1999
5 pages
Report
Keine Angabe
Englisch