A cross tie processor working at an east Texas sawmill died when struck by a guard thrown from a wood chipper machine as he stood at his work station.

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Texas Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Program (Texas FACE) ; Texas Workers’ Compensation Commission
• Description:
  A 34-year-old cross tie processor died when he was struck in the back of the head by a steel hood thrown from a wood chipper machine. The victim was at his assigned location waiting for cross ties to arrive so he could cut them to the desired length. The wood chipper was located approximately 30 feet away from him. The victim was facing away from the wood chipper when the hood suddenly separated and was thrown 30 feet through the air, striking the victim in the back of the head. The local emergency medical services (EMS) responded within five minutes of notification. Attempts were made to revive the victim. He was transported to the local hospital where he was pronounced dead by the justice of the peace. The TX FACE Investigator concluded that to reduce the likelihood of similar occurrences, employers should: 1. Install guards according to manufacturers' instructions. 2. Install a metal detecting device in the conveyor systems of process machines to protect against mechanical damage. 3. Obtain the operators manual for the machine and incorporate manufacturer's recommendations into written safe operating procedures. 4. Develop maintenance and inspection procedures to ensure that machines and equipment are properly maintained according to manufacturers' specifications and that employees follow safe work practices.
• Subjects:
  Accident Prevention Accidents Accidents, Occupational Manufacturing And Industrial Facilities Occupational Health Safety Safety Management Workplace
• Keywords:
  Accident-analysis Accident-prevention Injuries Injury-prevention Machine-guarding Machine-operation Machine-shop-workers OSHA Region 6 Safety-education Safety-equipment Safety-measures Safety-monitoring Sawmill-workers Traumatic-injuries Work-analysis Work-areas Work-operations Work-performance Work-practices

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• FACE - NIOSH and State:
  FACE ; Machine (All) ; Machine - Manufacturing
• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Subseries:
  State
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHSFACE98TX074
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Texas ; OSHA Region 6
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  4 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20028708
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2010-115341
• 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 98TX074, 1998 Aug ; :1-4
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1998
• Performing Organization:
  Texas Workers' Compensation Commission
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  11 - Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  1997/07/01
• End Date:
  2002/09/30
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:a76c6f88523c589fe9872ed7c72ffc574d486147fc28bfa639df015a69547b65c4cab9c56e0ee897993d4b910f8af79a7ff0e93348f3fd0344e405fe77e77e4c
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/166451/cdc_166451_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 16.02 KB ]