Hazardous Energy in the Workplace: A Recent Accident
The son of the owner of a commercial drywall construction company, an employee of the company, was preparing an aerial lift for a job and had replaced two battery terminals. He had raised the aerial boom and was reaching toward the battery compartment across the metal enclosure that houses the lift's toggle controls when the boom dropped and pinned him to the control panel. His father discovered him and summoned emergency responders but he died at the site.
Investigation Findings
- The lift's emergency valve, hydraulic hoses and fittings, and electrical wiring were inspected after the accident and were not defective; however, the on/off key switch had been bypassed so that the operator could use the toggle switches without using the key.
- The battery charging system was missing a fuse that would stop the system from charging and the spring-loaded toggle switches that controlled the boom did not have guards to prevent accidental contact.
- The employee did not use lockout procedures while he was working on the lift and did not block the boom to prevent it from dropping.
- The owner had not reviewed the lift's instruction manual with the victim or other company employees.
- Although the company had more than 10 employees, it did not have a safety committee.
The accident resulted in the OSHA violations listed below:
- The employer failed to ensure that employees did not remove or tamper with required safety devices.
- The employer did not develop, document, and require employees to use lockout procedures to control hazardous energy during maintenance work.
- The employer had more than 10 employees but did not have a safety committee. (Oregon requirement)
Source: Oregon OSHA