Semi-Truck Driver Died When Struck by Precast Concrete Panel That Fell From Semi Trailer

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Michigan Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (Project) (MIFACE) ; Michigan State University. Department of Medicine. Occupational and Environmental Medicine
• Description:
  In fall 2009, a male semi-truck driver in his 60s died when he was struck by a 3,770-pound precast concrete panel that fell from a semi-truck trailer. The semi-trailer had two A-frames carrying precast concrete panels. One A-frame was located toward the rear of the trailer and one to the front of the trailer. The sides of the A-frame, against which the panels rested, were faced outward on both sides of the trailer. After arriving at the site, the decedent removed the load securement straps from all of the concrete panels. The unsecured precast concrete panel that struck the decedent was located on the A-frame toward the front of the trailer facing the passenger side. A crane operator was lifting a precast panel from an A-frame located at the rear of the trailer facing the driver's side. A single looped tag line approximately 45 feet in length was in use. The following sequence of events is postulated: As the precast panel from the rear of the trailer was lifted up and over toward the truck cab, the looped tag line caught the edge of the unsecured panel at the front passenger side A-frame. The decedent was standing near the passenger door and noticed the looped tag line catch on the corner of the incident panel. As he was approaching to move the tag line away from the panel, the tag line ran out of slack, tightened, and exerted enough force to cause the panel to fall from the A-frame, strike his right shoulder and head, and then pin him to the ground. After the panel fell, the crane operator lowered the precast panel he was lifting. Coworkers unhooked this panel and then hooked the crane to the panel pinning the decedent. The panel was lifted from the decedent and emergency response was called. The decedent was transported to a local hospital and declared dead. MIFACE identified the following factors to be contributory to this incident: 1. Unsecured concrete panel. 2. Looped tag line. 3. Unloading sequence of trailer. 4. Truck driver entered swing radius of crane and load. RECOMMENDATIONS: 1. Transport devices, such as shoulder bolts, should be utilized to secure individual concrete sound panels to the A-frames during transport and unloading unstrapped loads. 2. Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) should include work practices that address load securement during the unloading process. When load configuration permits, truck drivers should wait to release the load securement tie down assemblies until after the material to be unloaded is secured with the unloading line or other unloading device. 3. Truck driver training, in addition to training regarding SOPs, should emphasize safe driver positioning during unloading and to never enter the unloading zone without confirmation from the individual unloading the trailer. 4. Additionally, crane operators and their employers should ensure employees follow appropriate crane operation procedures.
• Subjects:
  Accident Prevention Accidents Accidents, Occupational Automobiles Manufacturing And Industrial Facilities Occupational Health Safety Transportation
• Keywords:
  Accident-analysis Accident-potential Accident-prevention Author Keywords: Struck By Concrete Sound Panel Crane Safety Drivers Hazard Zone Injuries Injury-prevention Materials-handling Materials-handling-equipment OSHA Region 5 Safety-equipment Safety-practices Trailer Unloading Transportation-industry Transportation-workers Truck-drivers Truck Driver Trucking

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• FACE - NIOSH and State:
  FACE ; Motor Vehicles ; Prevention through Design (PtD)
• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Subseries:
  State
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHSFACE09MI075
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Michigan ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-11
• Contributor:
  McKenzie, Tony
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20045950
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2015-104091
• 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 09MI075, 2015 Jan ; :1-11
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2015
• Performing Organization:
  Michigan State University
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  23 - Construction - (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-512:0ab5f5b1dc6c85125d5bf0fd49e603881c4bd2ef3873be8747afbe1495e4eef97847456a68225d4eba5f57e24e5ad7fa18acb70b0cc0cb627a3e3f42fd5683ea
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/165062/cdc_165062_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 186.95 KB ]