Lumber Mill Employee Fatally Struck by Forklift – Oregon

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Oregon Health & Science University. Oregon Institute of Occupational Health Sciences
• Description:
  On September 6, 2023 a 63-year-old Native American/Hispanic male lumber mill employee was killed when he was struck by the load being carried by a forklift. At the time of the incident, the decedent was preparing to cut lumber for a pallet order. The workstation for this task included a yard saw and a pallet of lumber. The workstation was located inside a lumber shed between a forklift travel pathway and lumber storage area. The employee walked towards his workstation and stopped in the center of the lumber shed. While the employee was standing in this location, a forklift drove around the corner outside of the building to enter the same lumber shed. It was a sunny day, with the forklift driver facing southeast. The forklift driver did not see the employee standing in the forklift travel path just inside the lumber shed and the employee was fatally struck. CONTRIBUTING FACTORS - Key contributing factors identified in the investigation include: Work station located close to forklift traffic; Inadequate separation of pedestrian and forklift traffic; Inadequate forklift controls to prevent collisions; Limited visibility of workers in shaded work areas; Unclear workplace policies. RECOMMENDATIONS - Oregon FACE investigators concluded that, to help prevent similar occurrences, employers should: Design workstations to eliminate exposure to forklift traffic; Implement clear separation of forklift and pedestrian traffic; Utilize forklift engineering controls for collision prevention; Require high visibility personal protective equipment; Provide clear workplace safety policies with training and enforcement. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Accident Prevention Accidents Accidents, Occupational Forestry Mortality Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Accident Analysis Accident Prevention Fatalities Forklifts Lumber Industry Workers Region 10 Safety Practices
• FACE - Firefighter:
  Cause of Death: Medical ; Wildland Fire: Motor Vehicle
• Series:
  Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program (FFFIPP)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHSFACE23OR001
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Field Study ; Case Report
• Place as Subject:
  Oregon ; OSHA Region 10 ; OSHA Region 3 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-12
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20070222
• 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 23OR001, 2024 Aug; :1-12
• Contact Point Address:
  Oregon Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (OR-FACE) Program, Oregon Institute of Occupational Health Sciences, Oregon Health & Science University, 3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Rd. L606, Portland, OR 97239
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2024
• Performing Organization:
  Public Health Services, Portland, Oregon
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  31-33 - Manufacturing - (NAICS) ; 321918 - Other Millwork (including Flooring) - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• End Date:
  20260630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:76ce439102f19ee0749d8d6483a759e3759e4bf2e0d1789ee333239c41c8bcd20111052fba9066ca45d7961d0fa05f9a121078fb708516ea4beb4c168b515ce5
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/228528/cdc_228528_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 943.13 KB ]