Maintenance Electrician Dies From Crush Injuries When Caught Between Nip Barrier and Upper Frame of Paper Rewinder -- Virginia

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Program
• Description:
  On April 18, 1997, a 37-year-old male maintenance electrician (the victim) died when his lower torso was crushed between the nip barrier (a wire-mesh gate) and the upper frame of a paper rewinder machine at a paper -manufacturing facility. Without first de-energizing, locking out, and tagging the machine, the victim began to replace the arm for the limit switch that controlled upward movement of the nip barrier. He climbed an 8-foot stepladder to access the top of the machine where the switch was located and leaned into the 16-inch opening between the top of the nip barrier and the upper frame of the machine. Co-workers observed him reaching with a screwdriver into the area where the switch was located. Apparently, he inadvertently activated the limit switch and the nip barrier raised, carrying the victim and the stepladder upward and compressing both between the nip barrier and the upper frame of the machine. NIOSH investigators concluded that, in order to prevent similar incidents, employers should: ensure that maintenance workers follow established lockout/tagout procedures for control of hazardous energy
  
  conduct regular worksite evaluations to ensure adherence to established procedures for control of hazardous energy
  
  train production workers and other non -maintenance workers to recognize potential workplace hazards and participate actively in workplace safety.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Accident Prevention Accidents Accidents, Occupational Occupational Health Safety Safety Management
• Keywords:
  Accident-potential Accident-prevention OSHA Region 3 Safety-measures Safety-practices Traumatic-injuries
• FACE - NIOSH and State:
  FACE ; Machine (All) ; Machine - Manufacturing
• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Subseries:
  NIOSH (In-House)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHFACE9717
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Virginia ; OSHA Region 3
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSR - Division of Safety Research
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  6 pages
• Contributor:
  Casini, Virgil J. ; Pettit, Theodore A. ; Pratt, Stephanie G. ; Sniezek, Joe
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20000455
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB99-157109
• Citation:
  Morgantown, : U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1997
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  31-33 - Manufacturing - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  1997/04/18
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:9ed1061690bfacd792620ce18827c200223110b439e45d7680eeb00cec0a62657fe72bc64cb584269ad02c6ca656ce9b1540a9437965b238d877906a3b498750
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/167396/cdc_167396_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 272.65 KB ]