A 38-year-old welder was fatally injured while doing maintenance on a large chip conveyor at a commercial wood chipping facility. A new conveyor system had been installed to move wood chips from a large chipper to the yard area. The system was operational but not complete. Two workers, including a welder, were working at the in-feed end of the conveyor system which was 400 feet from out-feed end. At the same time, two other workers were working at the out-feed end of the conveyor. The control panel, including the disconnect switch for the system, was located at the out-feed end. The conveyor was shut down for maintenance.
The workers at the out-feed end needed to move the belt a few feet to complete their work. Before starting up the conveyor, one of the workers checked to see if the other workers at the in-feed end were away from the belt. He saw one worker clear, but did not see the welder, and apparently did not know he was at the worksite, so he activated the on switch. This switch was designed to be locked out as shown in the photo on the right, but no lockout devices were in use at the time of the incident. The welder was working below the hopper, sitting on the conveyor belt between the metal framework and the conveyor and therefore not visible from the out-feed end. When the conveyor belt was turned on, the welder was immediately pulled by the moving belt into the narrow space under the metal framework feet first, trapping him and inflicting severe crushing injuries. The fast-moving conveyor belt was on for 4-5 seconds and moved nearly 33 ft. with the welder trapped before it was shut-off. His co-workers immediately called 911 and then managed to free him. He was transported to the hospital, but died soon after.