1. and see how GPS could have prevented this disaster!
Let’s Check Three
and see how GPS could have prevented this disaster!
The Scenario:
Check Three Analysis:
A temp worker at a Camden chocolate processing plant died after he fell into an eight-foot vat that was mixing and melting chocolate to be used in Hershey's candy.
The worker was standing atop a platform and tossing blocks of solid, raw chocolate into the tank.
The tank was heated at 120 degrees Fahrenheit, and paddles inside stirred the chocolate as it was thrown in.
When he fell, one of his three co-workers on the platform immediately rushed to turn the machine off, and the other two tried to pull him out.
He had been struck by one of the paddles and suffered fatal injuries when the Camden firefighters pulled his chocolate-covered body out of the tank. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
He worked at a plant owned by Lyons & Sons, Inc., which is contracted by Moorestown, NJ-based Cocoa Services, Inc. to process chocolate.
Early investigation results indicated the death was accidental. The mixing process was a daily task performed by the workers and the batch would have been used in making Hershey products.
The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration said it was investigating the incident. Lyons & Sons does not have any prior OSHA violations.
In July 2002, a 19-year-old worker died in a similar fashion when he fell into a vat for mixing and melting chocolate at a plant in Hatfield Township, Montgomery County.
An autopsy determined the man died of asphyxiation.
Gear
Gear may not always be something you wear. It could be something that should be in-place, such as railings. The serious violations from OSHA included: a lack of railings on floor openings or working platforms above the melting tanks, employees working on melting platform exposed to nine-foot falls, employer failing to post warning signs on the melting tanks to indicate confined space, and failing to provide enclosures or guards over energized wires on melting tank boilers. Fines/$39,200
Plan
All indications are that the worker had a plan to perform his task the way he had been trained since beginning work there several months earlier. Management did not have a plan to protect employees from falls. They should have known the requirements and at least conducted a risk assessment and developed a plan of action to prevent falls and become compliant.
Skills
The worker had been trained in the task and had the right skills.