Another PRCS fatality involving a “dock leveler plate”

A friend and I were just discussing this topic, and it reminded me that I never got around to sharing this most recent fatality involving a dock leveler plate. It surprises me that even after the agency issued its LOI in 2002 explaining how the space below these plates could be a Permit-Required Confined Space, the agency did NOT issue a single citation under 1910.146 for this fatal accident. I would suggest this is a LEGAL thing and NOT a wise RISK ANALYSIS if anyone wants to claim their spaces are not a PRCS simply because OSHA did not issue any PRCS citations.

On October 2, 2010, Employee #1, a 47-year-old maintenance worker employed by a large meat packing company in Green Bay, Wisconsin, was assigned to replace a bracket on a dock plate leveler. At approximately 9:00 a.m., Employee #1 was repairing the dock plate leveler. To make the repairs, the dock plate leveler had to be raised and held in the "up" position. A built-in strut (steel arm) was available to hold up the dock plate. Later in the day, two employees found Employee #1 pinned between the dock plate and dock foundation. Employee #1 was unresponsive when pulled from the area, and the rescue squad was summoned. Employee #1 was killed, and he was pronounced dead at the scene. No one witnessed the accident. Manufacturer recommendations for servicing the leveler/dock plate were available. Recommendations included methods for raising the plate, placing the strut to secure the plate in an "up" position, locking out the leveler controls, and restoring the dock plate leveler to service. The recommended procedures required a second employee to assist, when the strut was placed or taken down, but a second employee was not involved with the repairs on that day. It was unclear what steps were taken that day, but the strut was in the "down" position, when Employee #1 was found. Employee #1 had been working on the dock plate for some period of time. The controls were not locked out. The company had a lockout program and procedures for many machines but did not have a specific procedure for dock plate levelers. The leveler had at least two types of energy that needed to be isolated, power to the dock plate elevation controls and force of gravity. Interviews of the maintenance crew indicated that the plate had been previously serviced using various means to lift/support the dock, such as a forklift or chains, when the strut was put in place. No chain was found near the scene, but a forklift, with forks elevated to approximately the height of the dock/leveler, was found next to Employee #1.

Source: https://www.osha.gov/ords/imis/establishment.inspection_detail?id=312558430

Other more recent fatalities by working under a dock leveler plate:

https://www.osha.gov/ords/imis/accidentsearch.accident_detail?id=118421.015

https://www.osha.gov/ords/imis/accidentsearch.accident_detail?id=129273.015