Metal Conveyor Belt Kills
Installation Supervisor

A 35-year-old supervisor from an out-of-state manufacturing company was killed while he was overseeing installation of a heavy metal conveyor belt at a recycling plant. This conveyor system was designed to move recycled materials from ground level to a new elevated sorting line. Installation workers were assembling the metal conveyor belt at ground level and pulling it up a 30-degree incline using hand-operated winches. When the conveyor belt reached the top of the incline, the workers were rearranging their winches to pull the belt around the top roller. To hold the conveyor belt in place they attached a safety chain to a 2”x2” piece of angle iron which was welded temporarily to a 4”x4” angle iron sweep on the conveyor. They had repeated the same procedure earlier when the conveyor was in lower positions.

However, at this time, because of jerky movements, the temporary weld on the 2"x2" angle failed, and the entire conveyor belt rapidly slid down the 44-foot-long incline and bunched up on the ground level. The victim was standing on or walking over the conveyor at ground level and was knocked down and dragged through a narrow space between the belt and the conveyor frame, causing extensive crush injuries to his truck and extremities. The man was dead at the scene. All installation procedures were directed by the victim, including the 2"x2" angle iron piece that failed.

#1 The manufacturer should establish written procedures for safe installation and maintenance of conveyor belts, identifying dangerous times during the process.

-- This manufacturer has developed an “installation kit” which contains a special lead section of belt with solid anchors for winches and safety chains.

-- In addition the company has included anti-rollback stops along the incline to stop any reverse movement of the belt anytime during installation or operation of the belt.

-- The 4x4 angle iron frame support is installed after the belt to remove a potential crush point.

#2 The manufacturer should train all installation sub-contractors in safe working procedures.

-- Trained and qualified supervisors should be on-site at every major installation.