Laborer Crushed Between Two Large Stone Slabs at a Manufacturing Facility-Massachusetts

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Massachusetts Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Project (Massachusetts FACE) ; Massachusetts. Department of Public Health
• Description:
  On May 7, 2019, a 49-year-old laborer was killed while assisting in moving a large stone slab to be stored on an A-frame rack. He was positioned between two A-frame racks, trying to disconnect the slab lifter, when he was crushed between two large stone slabs. CONTRIBUTING FACTORS: Key contributing factors identified in this investigation include: Not using the slab rack's safety posts ; Victim position within the fall shadow ; Forklift operator lacked training and state license ; Job hazard analysis for moving stone slabs was not performed ; Standard operating procedures for moving stone slabs were not developed ; and Lack of a safety and health program and overall safety training. RECOMMENDATIONS: The Massachusetts FACE Program concluded that, to help prevent similar occurrences, employers should: Use slab racks designed with fixed safety posts and individual compartments for each slab ; Ensure that employees are never located in the fall shadow of a stone slab while the slab is being accessed to be moved ; Ensure that only employees with the required OSHA training and state license are permitted to operate forklifts ; Ensure that a job hazard analysis is performed for all routine tasks and updated when needed ; and Develop, implement, and enforce standard operating procedures (SOP) for moving, storing, and retrieving stone slabs, which includes ensuring employees are never located in the fall zone.
• Subjects:
  • Accidents, Occupational
  • Hazardous Substances
  • Health Promotion
  • Mortality
  • Occupational Health
  • Safety
  • Staff Development
• Keywords:
  • OSHA Region 1
  • Accident analysis
  • Accidents
  • Safety practices
  • Fatalities
  • Hazard identification
  • Hazard recognition
  • Equipment operation
  • Equipment operators
  • Health programs
  More +
• FACE - NIOSH and State:
  FACE ; Other
• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Subseries:
  State
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHSFACE19MA015
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Massachusetts ; OSHA Region 1
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-11
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20064861
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2022-100411
• Citation:
  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 19MA015, 2021 Dec ; :1-11
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2022
• Performing Organization:
  Massachusetts State Department of Public Health
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  31-33 - Manufacturing - (NAICS) ; 327991 - Cut Stone and Stone Product Manufacturing - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  2005/07/01
• End Date:
  2026/06/30
• Resource Number:
  FACE-19MA015
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/164861/cdc_164861_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 775.73 KB]
• Collection(s):
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Program ; National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:29da0dceb8d3f927a9a11762a2f8a65d97d4833a74e12fa1d8ed887fbb4d7a6cece7fc8a4ac26faa8d8e4f70c668d5f89c52622a4f5c22322aeb93fcc0c1ea6c