There is only one forklift/baler operator working per shift. The victim’s job title was forklift/baler operator. The first shift, the shift during which the incident occurred, starts at 7:00 a.m. The company has a five-day work week with three shifts per day. Of the 185 employees, 154 are paid hourly wages and 31 receive salaries. This manufacturer employs approximately 4,000 workers nationwide, with the incident location accounting for 185 employees. The Massachusetts location, where the incident occurred, was established in 1971. The employer is an envelope manufacturer that was founded in the early 1950s and now has locations throughout the United States. The OSHA fatality and catastrophe report, fire department report, death certificate, company information, and the forklift information were reviewed during the course of the investigation. On May 13, 2008, the Massachusetts FACE Program Director and an investigator traveled to the employer location and met with multiple company representatives to discuss the incident. On April 8, 2008, the Massachusetts FACE Program was notified by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) through the 24-hour Occupational Fatality Hotline that on April 4, 2008, a 61-year-old male forklift operator had died when he was caught between the forklift’s mast and cage. Design forklifts so that operators cannot place any parts of their body in between the cage and mast and unintentionally engage the mast controls.Routinely evaluate the effectiveness of health and safety programs and activities in the workplace.Ensure that all federal and state required trainings and licenses for forklift operators are up to date and.Ensure adequate light is provided in locations where forklifts are operated.Ensure that standard operating procedures (SOP) are followed during forklift operation and that SOPs include alternative procedures for non-routine tasks, such as inability to lower the tines.Ensure that forklift operators never position themselves or any part of their bodies between the forklift operator’s cage and the upright of the mast while the forklift is running.The Massachusetts FACE Program concluded that to prevent similar occurrences in the future, employers should:
The victim was then transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead. The local fire department arrived within minutes and started cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Co-workers then freed the victim from the forklift. The victim was found by a co-worker who placed a call for emergency medical services (EMS).
The mast tilted back, crushing the victim between the mast and forklift cage. While climbing up onto the exterior front section of the forklift and then reaching up between the forklift cage and mast, the victim’s foot came in contact with and engaged the forklift’s mast tilting control lever.
The victim exited the forklift operator’s area to assess where the pallet was caught. The pallet loaded on the forklift tines was lowered onto the stacked pallets inside the trailer, but would not slide off the raised forklift tines. The victim was positioning a pallet loaded with waste corrugated cardboard boxes on top of other stacked pallets inside a tractor trailer. On Apa 61-year-old male forklift/baler operator (victim) was fatally injured when he was crushed between the cage and mast of the forklift he was operating.
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