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Hispanic Construction Worker Dies While Operating Ride-On Roller/Compactor \u2013 South Carolina
No full textOn March 19, 2007, an 18-year-old male Hispanic construction worker (the victim) died from crushing injuries suffered when the roller/compactor he was operating on uneven soil overturned and fell onto him after he was ejected from the operator's cab. The site the victim was compacting had previously failed a soil compaction inspection and the victim was hired to re-compact several areas for repeat soil compaction testing. It was the victim's second day on the job with little training on operating the roller/compactor. The victim had just finished compacting one plot and was moving to the next. The plots were side-by-side, consisting of compacted dirt bounded by un-compacted dirt. Flush with the side of one of the plots was a steep incline of un-compacted dirt. The rollover was not witnessed, but evidence suggests the victim was not wearing his seatbelt and was ejected from the operator's cab. A coworker noticed the overturned roller/compactor and sought help from the foreman. Emergency Medical Service (EMS) was called. EMS personnel arrived within 15 minutes and pronounced the victim dead at the scene
Worker Dies After Being Pinned Between Wheel And Bed Of Flat-Bed Trailer
No full textA 54-year-old male worker (victim) died when he was crushed between a wheel of a flat-bed trailer and the bed of the trailer. The victim and his brother were working on the dual axle trailer while it was parked on a concrete floor. The front of the trailer was supported by two stands located at the front of the trailer. A payloader equipped with a bucket was used to lift the back end of the trailer. The trailer's front axle was attached to two leaf springs. The ends of the leaf springs were attached to the trailer's frame with metal pins. Prior to raising the back end of the trailer, the pins holding the back end of the front axle's springs were removed. When the back end of the trailer was raised, the front axle swung forward and hung from the pins at the front end of the leaf springs. After completing the repair work, a chain was hooked to the end of one of the front axle's leaf spring that was near the floor. The victim was to pull on the chain to swing the front axle toward the rear of the trailer as the payloader bucket was lowered. As the back end of the trailer was being lowered, the chain apparently unhooked from the leaf spring. The victim crouched between the wheels of the trailer to rehook the chain without signaling to his brother to stop lowering the trailer. While the victim was between the wheels, the trailer suddenly slid forward and the back end fell from the payloader bucket. The victim was pinned between the top of the front axle wheel and the frame/bed of the trailer. After the trailer fell, the victim's brother exited the payloader and found his brother pinned between the trailer and the wheel. He returned to the payloader and raised the back end of the trailer. After raising it, he removed the victim and laid him on the concrete floor. He placed a call to emergency personnel who arrived shortly after being notified. They examined the victim and pronounced him dead at the scene. MN FACE investigators concluded that, in order to reduce the likelihood of similar occurrences, the following guidelines should be followed: 1. workers should only use machines and equipment for tasks for which they were intended and designed; and 2. workers should maintain visual contact, either directly or indirectly via other workers, whenever the actions of one worker may directly impact the health and safety of any other coworkers.Cooperative Agreemen
Roofer Falls 20 Feet to His Death
No full textA 46 year-old male roofer died as a result of injuries sustained from a 20 foot fall while installing shingles on a new home. He was not wearing any fall protection. The Nebraska Department of Labor investigator concluded that to prevent future similar occurrences, employers and employees should: 1. Ensure that appropriate fall protection is available and used when workers may be exposed to a fall hazard. 2. Monitor employees and co-workers for impaired behavior. 3. Consider installing fall protection attach points into a home during construction.Cooperative Agreemen
Farmer Dies After Being Crushed By Building He Was Moving
Full text linkA 36-year-old male farmer (victim) died from injuries sustained when a wood frame building he was moving fell. He used two large building jacks to raise one end of the building high enough to slide a skid under the building. He then lowered the jacks and set the building on the skid. The building was not secured or fastened in any manner directly to the skid. He hooked a chain around one end of the skid and then hooked the chain to the hitch of his four-wheel drive pick-up. Using his pick-up, he pulled the skid and building approximately 200 yards across a pasture. As he pulled the building up a slight incline in the terrain, the front of the building slid off the skid. He stopped and used a general purpose jack to raise the front of the building approximately two feet. He did not support the raised building with blocks or stands to prevent it from falling. After he raised the building, he crawled under the front of the building apparently to reposition the skid. The raised building suddenly slipped off the jack and fell on the victim's back, shoulders and head. He was discovered by his brother who raised the building and removed the victim. Emergency personnel were called and arrived at the scene where the victim was pronounced dead. MN FACE investigators concluded that, in order to reduce the likelihood of similar occurrences, the following guidelines should be followed: 1. all buildings and/or equipment supported or raised on jacks should be securely blocked if workers are required to crawl underneath the raised unit; and 2. when working on the ground, a heavy block should be placed under the base of all jacks.Cooperative Agreemen
Farmer Crushed in Machine Shed Doorway While Using Skid-Steer Loader [revised 2007-05-01]
No full textDuring the fall of 2003, a 67-year-old farmer was killed while operating a skid-steer loader on his farm. He was using the loader to park gravity flow wagons in a machine shed for winter storage. His method was to catch the tongue of the wagon with the edge of the loader bucket and carefully back the wagons into the shed. This was a routine task each fall, however, this time the farmer was fatally injured. He was found lying in the raised bucket, facing the rear of the machine, pinned against the header of the doorway. Besides crush injuries from the door frame, he also had a broken left ankle, which may not be consistent with this incident, but may be from a separate injury event. He was working alone and the circumstances at the time are not known. It appears he reached for the loader controls while standing in front of the machine. The lift arm control was activated, and the hydraulic lift arm valve or its control mechanism stuck and did not return to the neutral position, forcing the bucket upward until it met the header in the doorway. All loader movements were controlled by two hand controls, which, during our investigation, showed considerable wear. If pushed to the extreme position, the lift arm control would stick in the down (but not up) position, with the engine not running. The farmer was found crushed up against the header by his wife, who tried unsuccessfully to start the loader, then called 911. When rescuers arrived, they were able to start the machine and lower the bucket and the victim to the ground. Recommendations based on our investigation are as follows: 1. Farm equipment should be maintained in good operating condition. 2. Skid-steer loaders should be operated only when sitting in the operator's seat. 3. Manufacturers should always provide reliable mechanisms locking hydraulic controls when the operator is not sitting in the seat. 4. Skid-steer loaders should not be used for moving wagons unless appropriate hitching devices are provided.Cooperative Agreemen
Heavy Equipment Operator Pinned After Bulldozer Slides off Flatbed Trailer
Full text linkA 45-year-old male supervisor (the victim) for an excavation construction company was loading a Caterpillar D4 bulldozer to return it to the company shop when it slid sideways as he pulled it onto a flatbed trailer attached to a truck. The truck and trailer were parked with the right wheels on the sloped shoulder of the road, and the left wheels on the paved surface. Light rain was falling at the time of the incident, and the trailer was wet. The trailer was equipped with two metal and wood ramps that led from the ground to a wooden "beavertail" platform. After one unsuccessful attempt to drive the bulldozer onto the platform, the victim drove up the ramps and partway onto the platform. The tracks of the machine began to slide sideways towards the ditch, and off the trailer. He tried to jump out of the cab, but was pinned beneath the cab structure when it landed on top of him. The victim's wife had accompanied him to the site on the weekend morning when the incident occurred, and witnessed the incident from the passenger seat of the truck cab. She flagged down a passing car to call for help. EMS responders arrived, and elevated the bulldozer with air bags and blocks to remove the victim's body. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene by the medical examiner. The FACE investigator concluded that, to prevent similar occurrences, employers and bulldozer operators should: 1. Always use an operator restraint system while operating equipment equipped with rollover protective structures (ROPS). 2. Evaluate the terrain prior to loading track equipment onto a trailer, and plan safe strategies for addressing the hazards. 3. Arrange for a qualified observer to provide verbal or signal directions when loading track equipment onto a trailer.Publication Date provided by FACE program; not printed on the report.Cooperative Agreemen
Rubber equipment operator died after his head was caught between bars of operating machinery
Full text linkOn August 23, 2018, a 23-year-old male Caucasian rubber cutter was found caught between two bars of a festoon rubber processing line (cooling line). The event was unwitnessed; however, circumstances suggested that the employee entered the festoon area to retrieve and redirect a rubber strip on a cooling bar that had passed the point where it should have fed onto a conveyor. It is believed that the worker raised his head between the moving cooling bars, and that the bars then forced his head against a structural support for an electrical panel. He was pronounced dead at the scene. CONTRIBUTING FACTORS: Key contributing factors identified in this investigation include: 1. Inadequate equipment safeguard. 2. Inadequate lockout/tagout program and training. 3. Inadequate hazard assessment and knowledge of safeguarding equipment. 4. Inadequate training and assessing workplace hazards. RECOMMENDATIONS: Oregon Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (OR-FACE) investigators concluded that to help prevent similar occurrences, employers should: 1. Safeguard machinery to protect machine operators and others who work in the area from hazards. 2. Implement, enforce, and assess "control of hazardous energy (lockout/tagout)" procedures for machines, equipment and processes where unexpected energization or start-up could cause harm to personnel. 3. Establish a safety committee that meets the requirements of Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). 4. Confirm industry best practices for specialty equipment, and notify equipment manufacturers of equipment hazards identified in hazard assessments.Cooperative Agreemen
Tow Truck Driver Struck and Killed by Passenger Vehicle While Securing Disabled Vehicle onto Flatbed Tow Truck
Full text linkOn Monday, September 19, 2016 a 48-year-old male tow truck owner-operator (the victim) was loading a disabled vehicle onto his flatbed tow truck on the west bound shoulder of a four lane controlled access highway. At approximately 10:15 pm, the victim was on the traffic-facing lane side securing the vehicle to his tow truck when the operator of an oncoming Dodge Durango traveling in the same direction failed to move over, veered over the edge line, and struck the tow truck owner and the side of the tow truck. The victim later died at the hospital. Recommendations for prevention: 1.Tow truck operators should limit the amount of time spent on the traffic lane facing side of the tow truck. 2. High-visibility safety apparel, such as safety vests, should be worn at all times while working at roadside. 3. Tow truck operators should work in conjunction with law enforcement to secure the work area prior to loading and securing a vehicle. 4. Tow truck operators should utilize portable emergency warning devices such as bidirectional reflective triangles. 5. There should be increased public awareness of the "Move Over Law" in Kentucky. 6. Tow truck operators should consider National Traffic Incident Management Responder Training, regardless of company size.Cooperative Agreemen
Assistant Manager at Fertilizer Mixing Facility Dies When Pinned Under Overturned 1972 Tractor Without a ROPS
Full text linkIn the winter of 2013, a male fertilizer mixing facility assistant manager in his 30s died when his 1972 Case 580B Construction King tractor with a front end loader overturned after sliding down the walls of a drainage ditch. The tractor was not equipped with a roll over protection structure (ROPS) and seat belt. The decedent had unsuccessfully attempted to remove a 12-foot section of the rail of a railroad on the south side of the facility with the tractor bucket. The facility's General Manager determined that another method should be used to remove the rail. The decedent was in the process of backing the tractor away so he could move it to another area. The tractor length, including the bucket was approximately 15 feet. The decedent backed the tractor approximately 20 feet. The ground was snow covered. The back wheels of the tractor slipped into an approximate nine-foot-deep ravine with an unmarked edge. As the tractor was sliding down the ditch, he attempted to drive the tractor forward, but the tractor continued to slide into the ravine. When the front wheels of the tractor reached the edge of the ravine, the tractor overturned to the rear. The decedent was pinned against the ravine bank by the tractor seat. A ROPS was an optional piece of equipment when the tractor was built in 1972. Factors that contributed to this incident include: 1) Tractor not equipped with a ROPS and seatbelt; 2) Edge of embankment not marked; 3) Frozen, snow-covered ground; 4) Two-wheel drive tractor was not equipped with chains for traction. RECOMMENDATIONS: 1. Retrofit older tractors with properly designed and manufactured ROPS and seat belt. If a ROPS is not available, consider replacing the older tractor with a tractor which can be equipped with or already has a ROPS. 2. To alert workers, mark edges of an embankment with visual cues, such as elevated, reflective stakes, orange fencing, or permanent barriers when in a traveled work area to alert workers. 3. Tractor operators should use extreme caution when using tractors on or near sloped terrain, ditches, or embankments. 4. Management should develop and implement a written safety and health program and train employees about the program. 5. Install tire chains on two-wheel drive tractors during winter to aid traction.Cooperative Agreemen
Temporary Worker Killed when Caught in Machinery at a Bottling Plant in Washington State
Full text linkOn February 26, 2000, a 24 -year-old temporary employee died when he was caught in a piece of machinery at a soft drink bottling plant. The victim was an operator on the bottle depalletizer/bottle conveyor line. The victim was employed and placed at the bottling plant by a temporary employment service agency. He had been on the job for about two years at the time of the incident. Somehow the victim got caught in a machine called a chipboard remover, which was part of a depalletizer conveyor system that was designed to remove empty soft drink bottles from a pallet and funnel them single-file into the system to be filled and capped. There were no witnesses to the incident. Co-workers discovered the victim caught in the machine when they went to find out why the bottle line had stopped. A call was placed to 911 and first aid and CPR were given to the victim immediately after being removed from the machine. The local fire department emergency medical team continued CPR on the victim but were unsuccessful and the victim died at the scene as a result of his injuries. To prevent similar occurrences, the Washington Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) investigative team has identified the following guidelines and requirements: 1. Ensure that all machinery is properly safeguarded to prevent the exposure of any part of a worker's body to hazardous aspects of the machine's operation. 2. Equip conveyor system with an emergency stop cable or similar safety device that runs the entire length of the conveyor. 3. The employer should work with the equipment manufacturer to address safe processes to deal with equipment jamming and other operational issues. 4. Temporary employment service agencies should work with secondary employers to establish specific job descriptions, training criteria, and hazard analyses of each job assigned to temporary employees. 5. Use a hand tool to help clear jammed or fallen containers, to prevent exposure of any body part to the machinery.Cooperative Agreemen