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Apprentice lineman killed when caught in trencher
Full text linkA 26-year-old apprentice lineman was killed when he was caught in a trencher. The apprentice (the victim) was removing a small berm by shoveling it back into a partially dug trench. The incident was not witnessed. It was surmised that the victim either lost his balance and fell toward the active machinery or the digging chain caught his clothing and pulled him into the trench. An electrical engineer and an inspector (the witnesses) standing at the opposite end of the trench noticed a rapid movement and something bright thrown in the air (the victim's hard hat) near the trencher. They immediately called to the operator. The trencher was stopped and moved away from the trench. Co-workers went into the trench to locate the victim as one of the witnesses called on his cellular phone for emergency assistance. The victim was located and pronounced dead at the scene. Based on the findings of the investigation, to prevent similar occurrences, employers should: 1. Ensure appropriate trencher attachments are used; 2. Ensure workers maintain a minimum 10-foot safety zone around an active digging chain and conform to all safe work practices for machines; 3. Ensure that a job safety analysis has been performed on all work-related tasks. Additionally, owners of early model trenching equipment should consider installing safety placards that illustrate dangers associated with an active trencher.Cooperative Agreemen
Electrician was electrocuted while doing repair work on a restaurant freezer in California
Full text linkA 40-year-old white male electrician (victim) was electrocuted while repairing a 3-door freezer in a restaurant. The victim was in the process of doing repair work on the freezer when he came in contact with a live wire. The wire was not grounded properly due to a short in the freezer circuit. The victim was not wearing any personal protection equipment (PPE) and was working from an aluminum ladder at the time of the incident. The victim fell 10 feet from the ladder and struck the back of his head on the floor. Paramedics were called to the scene and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was initiated. The victim was transported to the hospital in full cardiac arrest. The California FACE investigator concluded that in order to prevent future similar occurrences, employers and contractors should: 1. provide and use electrically insulated gloves when employees and contractors are doing electrical work. 2. provide and use only wooden ladders when employees or contractors are doing electrical repair work. 3. make sure all electrical circuits and wires are labeled properly before allowing an employee or a contractor to do any electrical work. 4. maintain all electrical panels and wiring so that they are in safe working order. 5. have a standard operating procedure (SOP) to follow which requires the testing of all circuits to make sure they are deenergized before beginning any electrical work.Cooperative Agreemen
A youth dies when a forklift rolls over on him
Full text linkA 17-year-old Hispanic male died when he was crushed by a forklift that rolled over on him. The victim had been employed with the company for only one hour and had not yet received safety training. The victim was attempting to retrieve some bales of hay for a customer when the incident occurred. The company kept the forklift keys in the ignition of the forklift during normal business hours. The CA/FACE investigator determined that, in order to prevent future occurrences, employers, as part of their Injury and Illness Prevention Program (IIPP), should: 1. Ensure employees under the age of 18 do not operate power-driven machinery. To accomplish this, employers should: 2. Establish a system to control access to power-driven machinery. 3. Identify and label equipment that is not to be operated by workers less than 18 years old. 4. Ensure that employee orientation and safety training is given to employees before they begin work.Cooperative Agreemen
Temporary Service Worker Dies After Mower Rolls Over on Him - North Carolina
Full text linkA 43-year-old male temporary service worker (the victim) died after the mower he was operating rolled over on top of him as he was mowing up a bank. The victim was a member of a five-person crew performing maintenance at an interstate highway rest stop. While the victim mowed the grass on the rest stop grounds, the crew leader and two coworkers cleaned the inside of the rest stop buildings and rest rooms. One coworker remained outside with the victim and cleaned up around the landscaping on the rest stop grounds. At the time of the incident, the victim had begun to mow along a bank bordering one of the rest stop's parking lots. A 15-foot-high bank with a 35-degree slope was present on the side of the parking lot. The victim had been instructed by the crew leader to mow across the bank and approximately 1/3 of the way up the bank due to the steep slope. The victim was instructed to use a weed eater to finish cutting the grass the rest of the way up the bank. Work proceeded all morning, and shortly after lunch, as the victim began to cut the bank, the coworker working outside with him notified the victim that he was going inside to get a drink and to get out of the sun for a while. The victim told the coworker that he would continue mowing. When the coworker returned \ubd hour later, he found the mower overturned, with the victim pinned underneath it. The coworker summoned the rest of the crew to help him lift the mower off the victim. A crew member called the Emergency Medical Service (EMS) from a phone in the rest stop. EMS personnel contacted the county coroner who pronounced the victim dead at the scene
Journeyman Glazier Dies After Being Catapulted From Manlift in Indiana
Full text linkA journeyman glazier died after attempting to lift a 1000 pound case of glass with the 60-foot-long articulated boom of a two- man rated manlift. As the victim attempted to raise the case of glass, which weighed substantially above the 600-pound-rated lift capacity of the manlift, the off-side wheels on the base of the manlift were pulled 4 1/2 feet off the ground. When the victim realized he was in danger of turning the manlift over, he immediately reversed the controls to lower the boom. With the controls reversed and the manlift operating under full power the boom dropped approximately 2 feet, causing slack in the sling being used to move the case of glass and allowing the sling to slip free from the manlift. Relieved of the weight of the 1000- pound case of glass, the boom of the manlift hurtled skyward and the victim was catapulted from the bucket. The victim fell to earth more than 30 feet from the bucket. The victim died of his injuries 44 hours after the incident.Publication Date supplied by FACE program; date does not appear on report
Carpenter Dies After Being Struck by Uncontrolled Concrete Bucket When Crane Tips Over - Ohio
Full text linkOn October 13, 1999, a 50-year-old male carpenter (the victim) at a municipal construction site died after he was struck by a loaded concrete bucket during a crane tip-over. The victim was removing forms from a newly constructed concrete wall while a concrete finishing crew was filling empty forms about 15 to 20 feet away. Concrete was being hoisted from street level with a crawler-mounted mobile crane and landed under the direction of a roof-top spotter. As the crane operator hoisted a bucket load of concrete, swung it over the roof, and boomed out toward the empty forms, the crane lost stability, tipping toward the victim. When the crane operator realized what was occurring, he radioed a warning to the spotter who relayed the warning to roof-top workers. The victim had started to move when the uncontrolled concrete bucket swung toward him, striking his head and shoulder. Workers notified emergency personnel who responded within 6 minutes. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene. NIOSH investigators concluded that, to help prevent similar occurrences: 1) employers, crane owners, and operators should ensure that cranes are operated within their safe lifting capacities as recommended by the crane manufacturer's load chart; 2) crane owners should ensure that monitoring instruments used for guidance during hoisting operations are accurately calibrated and operating correctly; 3) employers should develop and implement safe work procedures to ensure that workers in or near the landing area of hoisted loads are notified when loads are in the air; 4) employers should develop and implement safe work procedures to ensure that workers and crane operators have a clear and complete understanding of the landing locations before loads are hoisted
Laborer Fatally Injured While Cleaning Concrete Mixer--Tennessee
Full text linkA 25-year-old male laborer employed by a concrete pipe manufacturing company which produced concrete sewer pipes of various sizes died after a concrete mixer he was cleaning was turned on. The victim was involved in cleaning a ribbon type concrete mixer at the time of the accident. The procedure was to shut off the power at the breaker box, about 35 feet from the mixer, push the toggle switch for the mixer to determine if the power is off, and then enter the mixer to scrape down the inside and shovel the concrete debris out the front discharge chute. The mixer operator apparently shut off the main breaker but left to make a phone call prior to checking the mixer before entry. The victim spoke or read very little English and did not know that the mixer had been deenergized at the main breaker. He turned the mixer back on, apparently thinking he was turning it off. He then entered the mixer without first pushing the toggle switch to verify that the power was off. The mixer operator returned, pushed the toggle switch to check the mixer, and heard the victim scream. Cause of death was listed as crushing lower trunk injuries. It is recommended that employers should conduct a safety hazard analysis of all work locations and implement corrective actions as needed. A written safety program, including task specific training and lockout/tagout procedures, should be developed and enforced
Laborer/Tender Dies In Fall From Scaffolding In Massachusetts
Full text linkOn February 24, 1992, a 61 year old, male laborer/tender was fatally injured when he fell 20 to 25 feet from scaffolding on a Massachusetts construction site. The victim had finished his day's work aiding in the application of insulation and decorative plaster to the exterior facade of a building under renovation, when he began his descent down the tubular welded frame scaffolding (TWFS), and fell from the third or fourth level to the cluttered asphalt below. Never losing consciousness, the victim was soon transported to the local hospital where he died two weeks and three days later. The Massachusetts FACE Investigator concluded that in order to prevent similar future occurrences, employers should: 1. Select and appoint a designated safety person to develop, implement, and enforce a comprehensive safety program that includes, but is not limited to, training in fall hazard recognition and the use of fall protection devices. 2. Ensure that scaffolding is properly erected, maintained, moved, dismantled and/or altered only under the supervision of a competent person. 3. Ensure that scaffolding access ladder is provided.Cooperative Agreemen
Construction Worker Dies After Being Buried In A Trench That Caved In [96MN05901]
No full textA 46-year-old construction worker died of injuries he sustained when the trench he was working in caved in. Workers were using the trench to make a water line connection between the well and the water supply line that extended through the concrete footings of a new house. Copper pipe was used to make this waterline connection. On the day of the incident, the connection between the water supply line in the basement and the copper pipe was made. In order for the copper pipe to reach the well, copper pipe from a new roll had to be spliced to the original piece. A coworker of the victim was standing outside of the trench watching the victim splice the copper pipe in the trench. The coworker noticed the victim heading toward the ladder when the victim suddenly turned and headed the other way. A portion of one entire wall of the trench caved in from top to bottom and buried the victim. The coworker ran to get a shovel from a truck located at the scene. The coworker heard some mumbling and started digging but was unable to locate the victim. The coworker then ran to the backhoe that was parked near the trench and radioed other coworkers for help. Two coworkers working at another job site arrived at the incident site approximately 5 to 8 minutes after the initial call for help was placed. Upon their arrival, the initial coworker had located the victim's shoulder. The three coworkers uncovered the victim's head and continued to try to free him. Emergency rescue personnel arrived and pronounced the victim dead before he was completely removed from the trench. After the victim was pronounced dead, the backhoe was used to further widen the trench. This was done to reduce the risk of rescue personnel being buried by another cave-in while the victim was being removed. MN FACE investigators concluded that, in order to reduce the likelihood of similar occurrences, the following guidelines should be followed: 1. employers should ensure that employees working in trenches are protected from cave-ins by an adequate protection system designed in accordance with 29 CFR 1926.652; 2. employers should ensure that excavations are inspected by a competent person (1) prior to start of work and as needed throughout a shift to look for evidence of any situation that could result in possible cave-in; and 3. employers should design, develop, and implement a comprehensive safety program.Cooperative Agreemen
Farmer Dies of Entanglement in Corn Picker/Husker
Full text linkA 77-year-old male farmer (the victim) died after becoming entangled in a corn picker/husker. He had been harvesting corn from his field using a tractor equipped with a power take-off (PTO) that powered the picker/husker. The picker/husker was equipped with guards over some sprockets and chains on the sides and back of the machine. However, other operating parts of the machine were unguarded. He got off the tractor while the tractor was running with the PTO engaged, and was positioned near the sprockets, drive chains, and a revolving shaft of the picker. His clothing apparently was caught by the shaft and he was pulled into the operating machine. Earlier in the afternoon his wife had been working in the field with him, driving a truck that he loaded with the husked corn. She left the field after he indicated he did not need her help then, and returned to their house where she had a view of his work area. About one half hour later she noted that the tractor was stopped and she returned to the field to investigate. She found the victim entangled in the picker/husker, shut off the PTO, and went to the house to summon emergency services. EMS responders arrived and disengaged the PTO from the picker/grinder shaft to free the victim from the machine. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene. The FACE investigator concluded that, to prevent similar occurrences, farm machine/equipment operators should: 1. Observe and follow all applicable safety precautions when operating machinery driven by tractor power take-off equipment, including disengaging the PTO and stopping the tractor engine before approaching the machinery. 2. Identify machinery/equipment components that allow contact with a point of operation, and ensure that appropriate guards, recommended by the manufacturer or dealer, are installed.Publication Date provided by FACE program; not printed on the report.Cooperative Agreemen