OSHA Inspection: HIGHWAY TECHNOLOGIES, INC.

Issued

Mar 20, 2013

Abate by

Apr 2, 2013

Penalty

Initial $4,900 · Current $4,900

General-duty citation text

Nevada Revised Statute 618.375(1):  Duties of employers.  Every employer
shall furnish
employment and a place of employment which are free from recognized
hazards that are causing
or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to his or her
employees.
The employer failed to furnish employment and a place of employment that
was free
from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or
serious physical
harm to his or her employees with regard to struck-by and crush hazards
posed by
materials that are not handled and placed in a safe manner.  Employees
were using a
rough-terrain forklift (RTFL) to load highway guardrails onto a flatbed
truck.  The
flatbed truck was parked parallel to the roadway but on an approximate 10
degree slope,
making one side of the truck bed higher than the other.  The method used
by the
employees involved lowering the load to a height slightly above a
previously-placed
guardrail stack on the bed of the truck, and then attempting to push the
load off the forks
and onto the stack, rather than setting the load down securely on a level
surface and
withdrawing the forks from under the load.
At the time of the accident, the work was taking place along the
southbound side of
Interstate 15 near mile marker 55 in Las Vegas, NV.  Two employees were
using a JCB
930 Rough Terrain Forklift (RTFL) to load guardrails onto a flatbed truck.
The west
side of the truck was higher than the east side due to the approximate
10-degree slope
on which the truck was parked.  Employee #1 was operating the RTFL to move
a stack
of approximately 60 guardrail pieces onto the flat bed of the truck.  The
load was
lowered until the forks were slightly above the previously-placed
guardrail stack.  At that
point, Employees #1 and #2 then stood on the bed of the truck and
attempted to manually
push the guardrails off the forks and onto the truck.  Employee #2's side
of
the stack
cleared the forks first.  The stack became unstable and started to tip or
slide over
towards the east edge of the truck bed.
Employee #1 attempted to stop the rails from moving, and either jumped or
fell off the
truck bed in the process.  As a result, he landed on the ground and was
subsequently
buried under and crushed by the falling guardrail segments.  He was
pronounced dead
at the scene.
One feasible means of abatement is to follow the procedures for lifting
and placing loads
included in the Association of Equipment Manufacturers Safety Manual for
Operating and
Maintenance Personnel for Rough Terrain Forklifts, 1985.
References:
Association of Equipment Manufacturers - Safety Manual for Operating and
Maintenance
Personnel for Rough Terrain Forklifts - 1985.
Page 29 "Lifting and Placing the Load" - "The chosen landing location
should be level, both
front to back and side to side."
Page 30 "Lifting and Placing the Load cont'd" - "Lower the load gently
until the weight of the
load was securely resting on the landing point and the forks were free to
be retracted from under
the load."

Issued

Mar 20, 2013

Abate by

Apr 2, 2013

Penalty

Initial $3,500 · Current $3,500

Issued

Mar 20, 2013

Abate by

Apr 2, 2013

Penalty

Initial $700 · Current $700

Issued

Mar 20, 2013

Abate by

Apr 2, 2013

Penalty

Initial $700 · Current $700

Issued

Mar 20, 2013

Abate by

Apr 2, 2013

Penalty

Initial $700 · Current $700

Issued

Mar 20, 2013

Abate by

Apr 2, 2013

Penalty

Initial $700 · Current $700