Lean Safety Management and Sustainability

READ THE FOLLOWING BELOW AND SEE ATTACHED PHOTO:

Final Exam Preparation

The following case study is on the Final Exam for this course. Prior to sitting for the Final Exam, examine the details of the case study (listed below) to prepare for the Final Exam. When you are ready to attempt the Final Exam, you will notice this case study is accompanied by a small group of questions. The questions are not listed here, and you will not see them until you open and begin the Final Exam. Consider the following as you review the case:

 What is the problem?

 How did the incident happen?

 How would a lean safety professional approach this case?

 Which lean tools apply to the case?

 What implications does the case have on the organization’s safety culture?

Case Study:

(This case is based on an actual OSHA fatality investigation.)

A disposal company had a cardboard recycling operation located in a large metal warehouse building. The to-be-recycled cardboard was brought to the facility by trucks. The trucks would dump the cardboard in one end of the rectangular building. At the other end of the building, there was a large (horizontal) cardboard baling machine. The machine is depicted below:

(SEE ATTACHED FOR PHOTO)

Three employees worked in the operation of baling the cardboard. One employee, who happened to be partially hearing impaired, operated the baler. The controls are located on the left hand side of the conveyor (see picture above). A second employee operated a skid steer loader. His job was to scoop up the cardboard from the large pile and place it in the bin (#1) where a conveyor (#2) transported the cardboard to the baling chamber. The third employee was a general laborer and helped out where needed.

The work environment was extremely noisy due to several factors: the noise from the operation of the skid steer loader, the motors running the conveyor of the baler, and the hydraulic pumps and motor of the conveyor itself. The average noise level within the building was between 90 and 95 decibels.

The cardboard pieces came in many shapes and sizes. Some pieces were as small as the palm of your hand. Other pieces were larger than a table top. Because of the large cardboard items, cardboard would often get jammed at the top end of the conveyor where the pieces fell downward into the baling chamber (#3). Part of the general laborer’s job was to walk up the conveyor belt and dislodge the jammed cardboard pieces. He would do this by simply kicking the pieces into the opening so they would fall into the baling chamber. When the other two workers were interviewed, they stated that the general laborer did this many times per day.

When OSHA was called to investigate the fatality, it was determined that the general laborer had fallen from the top of the conveyor into the baling chamber while trying to dislodge jammed cardboard. The operator of the baler had turned his back to do something else while the general laborer was dislodging the cardboard. When the operator turned back around, he saw that the cardboard jam had been cleared and that the general laborer was no longer standing on the top of the conveyor. Unable to hear the laborer shouting for help due to the noisy environment, the operator actuated the control for the baler ram. The operator of the skid loader finally heard the victim screaming for help, jumped off the skid loader, and stopped the baler ram. By then it was too late. The victim died 36 hours later in the local hospital of traumatic crushing injuries.

References

French, J. (2012). Illustration of a horizontal cardboard baler. Unpublished graphic.

Hafey, R. B. (2010). Lean safety: Transforming your safety culture with lean management. New York, NY: CRC Press.

Spigener, J. (2012, July). Safety leadership: Leading from within: Developing your personal connection to safety. Safety + Health, 186(1), 54.