The accident investigation below was opened on Friday, June 30th 2017 by OSHA representitives in San Leandro, CA after learning of an incident at Alco Iron & Metal Co. which had occured on the same day. A 63 year old Machine operator had been killed when the
Accident Date2017-06-30
Accident DegreeFatality
NarrativeAt 1:30 p.m. on June 30, 2017, an employee attempted to manually move a portable screw conveyor in order to move it out of the way so he and a coworker could work on another piece of machinery. As the employee was pulling the portable screw conveyor, the wheels on the screw conveyor were caught on a crack in the concrete floor inside the employers processing area. The screw conveyor was housed in a heavy steel tube. The configuration of the screw conveyor was such, that the support frame supporting it collapsed when the wheels on this frame struck a crack in the concrete. The screw conveyor component of the assembly fell onto the employee who was positioned below it. The screw conveyor assembly struck the employee between his shoulder blades and knocked the employee to the floor. As the screw conveyor assembly was very heavy, the employee was crushed by the screw conveyor. The employee was transported to the hospital, however, the employee died shortly after arrival.