A Laborer is Crushed Between a Trash Compactor and Receiving Container

Details

• Personal Author:
  Harrison, Robert ; Scholz, Peter ; Styles, Laura
• Corporate Authors:
  California Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Program (CA/FACE) ; California. Department of Public Health. Occupational Health Branch
• Description:
  A laborer working at a charitable donation warehouse died when he was crushed between a stationary trash compactor and a roll-off receiving container being off-loaded by truck. The empty receiving container was to be docked to the trash compactor. The roll-off truck bed was elevated, and the driver had winched the container down so that its rear end was on the ground approximately ten feet from the trash compactor. The victim stepped between the trash compactor and the back of the receiving container to check their alignment. At the same time, the truck driver released the container which slid rapidly down the inclined truck bed, crushing the victim against the trash compactor. The California Fatality Assessment Control Evaluation (CA/FACE) program concluded that employers who deliver or receive roll-off compactor receiving containers take the following steps to prevent similar incidents: 1) Establish formal written rules for the safe off-loading of roll-off receiving containers. These rules should minimize and, where possible, eliminate the involvement of ground personnel. Where ground personnel are involved they should be formally designated, have a clearly delineated role, and have adequate training in hazard recognition, experience, and authority to conduct the job safely. 2) There should be sufficient employee supervision and enforcement to ensure that new employees conduct assigned duties in a safe manner. 3) Put safeguards in place to reduce the risk of someone eentering the 'danger zone' between the trash compactor and the receiving container when it is being off-loaded. CONTRIBUTING FACTORS: Occupational injuries and fatalities are often the result of one or more contributing factors or key events in a larger sequence of events that ultimately result in an injury or fatality. The CA/FACE team identified the following contributing factors in this incident that ultimately led to the fatality: 1) There were no formal, written rules for the safe off-loading of receiving containers at the trash compactor. 2) There may not have been sufficient employee supervision and enforcement to ensure that the victim, a new employee, was conducting assigned duties in a safe manner. 3) There were no safeguards in place to reduce the risk of someone entering the 'danger zone' in front of the trash compactor during the off-loading of a receiving container. RECOMMENDATIONS: Employers who deliver or receive roll-off compactor receiving containers should take the following steps to prevent similar incidents: a) Recommendation #1: Establish formal written rules for the safe off-loading of roll-off receiving containers. These rules should minimize and, where possible, eliminate the involvement of ground personnel. Where ground personnel are involved they should be formally designated, have a clearly delineated role, and have adequate training in hazard recognition, experience, and authority to conduct the job safely. b) Recommendation #2: There should be sufficient employee supervision and enforcement to ensure that new employees conduct assigned duties in a safe manner. c) Recommendation #3: Put safeguards in place to reduce the risk of someone entering the 'danger zone' between the trash compactor and the receiving container when it is being off-loaded. i) Guiding 'alignment marks' should be painted on the ground to assist the driver. ii) Visual demarcation of the 'danger zone', or guardrails, should be used to reinforce company policy prohibiting entry during the off-loading of the receiving container.
• Subjects:
  Hazardous Substances Manufacturing And Industrial Facilities Mortality Occupational Health Safety Safety Management Staff Development
• Keywords:
  Containers Equipment Operators Hazard Communication Hazard Recognition Heavy Equipment Injuries Injury-prevention Loading Docks Materials Handling Equipment Materials Transport Mortality-data OSHA Region 9 Policy Recommendations Safety Monitoring Safety Practices Training Traumatic-injuries Truck Drivers Visual Aids Visual Fields Warehousing Warning Signs Worker Safety Work Practices Work Zone

  More +
• FACE - NIOSH and State:
  FACE ; Hispanic
• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Subseries:
  State
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHSFACE16CA004
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  California ; OSHA Region 9
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-6
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20050052
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2017-102696
• Citation:
  Morgantown, WV: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, FACE 16CA004, 2017 Apr ; :1-6
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2017
• Performing Organization:
  California Department of Public Health
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  81 - Other Services (except Public Administration) - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  2005/07/01
• End Date:
  2026/06/30
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:93683781d534a80ab78a623280836b409e25ccbbb79916b966f302eb743be9f3acd62532f4bbb5f4649f482f0b02ca72e6773ab67940e0e50c9c5d4dfb1c17ce
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/165000/cdc_165000_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 169.91 KB ]