Fatality Narrative: Spotter Crushed Between Excavator Bucket and Trench Box

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Washington (State). Department of Labor and Industries
• Description:
  A 23-year-old construction worker was severely injured when he was pinned between the bucket of an excavator and a trench box. He was spotting the lowering of a sewer pipe. He had worked two years for his employer, a site preparation contractor and been an equipment operator for eight years. On the day of the incident, he was working with a crew to install underground sewer pipes at a community college. The crew consisted of an excavator operator or and three ground workers. This was the first day that the victim and the operator worked together. The excavator operator stacked two trench boxes into a 20- by-5-foot trench that was 14 feet deep. At their pre-task meeting they decided that the pipelayer would be inside the trench box and the two other workers would be outside on either side acting as spotters while the operator lowered the pipe into it. The worker on the left side of the trench, as viewed from the excavator's cab, rigged the pipe to a sling suspended from the bucket. He helped guide the pipe as the operator raised the excavator's boom and slowly swung the pipe from the left toward the trench box. When the suspended pipe was over the trench, the two spotters steadied it. As the operator began to lower the pipe, the victim was standing next to the box watching the pipe descend. As he was doing his, the bucket pinned the middle of his body against the top of the box. He suffered severe crushing injuries to his abdomen. State investigators found that the victim was standing in the area of the excavator bucket's swing and that he was in the operator's blind spot behind the bucket. The normal practice for this company was to remove the bucket when hoisting loads. In addition, the crew reported there was sense of urgency to get the job done quickly. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Construction Industry Environmental Exposure Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Staff Development Workplace
• Keywords:
  Communication Systems Construction Construction Workers Excavation Equipment Excavations Exposure Levels Hazards Hoisting Hoisting Equipment Personal Protection Personal Protective Equipment PPE Protective Equipment Protective Measures Risk Factors Safety Education Safety Equipment Safety Measures Safety Practices Training Trenches Trenching Work Environment Workers Worker Safety

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• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Publisher:
  Washington State Department of Labor and Industries
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Report
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 10 ; Washington
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20056069
• Citation:
  Olympia, WA: Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, 71-183-2019, 2019 Jun; :1
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2019
• Performing Organization:
  Washington State Department of Labor and Industries
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Fatality narrative: spotter crushed between excavator bucket and trench box
• End Date:
  20260630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:4e77c082d49a107baaa64fc4eba478aad8fbe367a2e31dfe2e0ba546493304c91e4450c72ad55a1d2d2b352183b48bcf217301a369bf694d92b0ceea9a0d263e
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/228920/cdc_228920_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 609.50 KB ]