OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #14253074
SOUTHERN EXHIBITION SERVICES INC
RALEIGH, NC·
Event description
ELECTRIC SHOCK - CONTACT WITH OVERHEAD LINE THRU FLAG POLE
Investigation abstract
TWO EMPLOYEES WERE ERECTING DECORATIVE "WELCOME" FLAGS AT THE ENTRANCE GATES TO THE 7200-VOLT OVERHEAD LINE ABOUT 1 FOOT BELOW THE TOP OF THE POLE, ELECTROCUTIN G THE EMPLOYEE. NEITHER EMPLOYEE HAD RECEIVED ANY INSTRUCTIONS CONCERNING WORK P RACTICES TO BE USED NEAR THE POWER LINES. THE NORTH CAROLINA STATE FAIRGROUNDS. THE FLAGS, WHICH HAD BEEN LOADED ONTO A TR UCK, WERE ATTACHED TO 21-FOOT-LONG, 1.375-INCH-DIAMETER METAL PIPES. AT ONE OF T HE GATES, AN OVERHEAD POWER LINE RAN PARALLEL TO AND ABOUT 10 FEET INSIDE OF THE CHAIN LINK FENCE ON WHICH THE FLAGS WERE BEING MOUNTED. THE TWO EMPLOYEES HAD A LREADY ERECTED TWO FLAGS TO THE LEFT OF THE GATE AND ONE TO THE RIGHT. ONE OF TH E EMPLOYEES PREPARED THE CLAMPS FOR THE NEXT FLAG POLE, WHILE HIS COWORKER WENT TO THE TRUCK TO RETRIEVE THE FLAG. UPON UNLOADING THE FLAG POLE, THIS EMPLOYEE T HEN CARRIED IT IN A VERTICAL POSITION TOWARDS THE GATE. THE FLAG POLE CONTACTED
Victim
-
#1 Fatality Age 20 M
- Nature of injury
- 10
- Part of body
- 4
- Event type
- 6
- Source
- 15
- Occupation code
- 469
- Human factor
- 20
- Environmental factor
- 8
- Hazardous substance
- 8870
- Task assigned
- 1
Codes shown verbatim from OSHA's accident-investigation database. A human-readable decoder is coming in a future release once the accident_lookup2 dictionary is loaded.