Performance Welding & Machine Inc: OSHA inspections and violations

Incident on Jul 16, 2019 (fatal): Employee is killed when struck by electrical panel

At 6:59 p.m. on July 16, 2019, Employee #1 was inside of a shipping container on a trailer, helping to unload a shipment of electrical cabinets and panels. A forklift operator was attempting to pull an electrical panel cabinet out, endwise, from the rear of the container. The forks were close together and the operator was trying to slide the 1,200 pound panel cabinet by pulling the end toward the rear of the container. Another forklift was in place to get a better lift angle from the side, once the electrical panel was clear of the portal. As the cabinet was being dragged, it suddenly tipped to one side. Employee #1 was trapped in the container by the boxes. The employee was too far from the open doors at the rear of the container to exit. The panel cabinet struck the employee on top of his head, compressing him into a seated position in a three foot space, then fell to one side inside of the container. Although he was wearing a hardhat, the blow knocked the employee to the ground, compressing his spine into his neck. Employee #1 sustained fractured vertebrae in his neck, and was killed.

Incident on Jul 16, 2019 (fatal): Employee is struck by and killed by falling electrical panel

At 6:59 p.m. on July 16, 2019, Employee #1, employed by a welding and machine repair company, was inside a shipping container on a trailer helping to unload a shipment of electrical cabinets and panels. Employee #1 was behind the electrical panel trying to push, as his coworker, a forklift operator, was attempting to use a forklift to pull the 2,189 lb electrical panel out, endwise, from the rear of the container. Another forklift was in place to get a better lift angle from the side, once the electrical panel was clear of the portal. As the cabinet was being dragged, it suddenly tipped to the left side of the container (looking in from the rear) and fell. It settled with the top edge of the cabinet leaning against the left side of the container (looking in from the rear) with approximately 3 feet of clearance from the top of the cabinet to the container floor. Employee #1 had moved to the side of the panel just before it tipped over and he was struck by the cabinet and trapped due to other boxes in the container blocking his exit forward and being too far from the open doors at the rear of the container to escape. Employee #1 was struck on the head and killed by the falling electrical cabinet. He was wearing a hard hat. He was compressed vertically from standing to a seated position in the remaining 3 feet clearance. A coroner determined that the falling electrical cabinet fractured vertebrae in his neck.

Incident on Sep 28, 2011 (fatal): Employee dies from electrical shock

At approximately 4:30 p.m. on September 28, 2011, Employee #1, a welder, went be tween his electric Lincoln Electric Power MIG 255XT welder and the metal buildin g to close the overhead door at the end of his shift. He was electrocuted, and t he Fresno Fire Department and the Fresno County Coroner's Office responded at th e scene. Electrical burn markings on the physical accouterments that would be ex pected were not revealed during the investigation.