Agriculture Fatality Narrative: Hop Farm Harvester Operator Struck by Steel Cable

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Washington (State). Department of Labor and Industries
• Description:
  A 26-year-old hop farm harvester operator was killed after he was struck by a steel cable. The operator had been employed by the hop farm for about eight months. On the day of the incident, the operator and four coworkers were harvesting hops in a hop yard. The hop vines had been grown on a trellis system composed of a grid of steel cables suspended by wooden poles. The vines were suspended vertically from cables running the length of the rows with cross cables over the rows to strengthen the system. The operator and a coworker operated a combine harvester to gather and process the hop vines from the steel cables. The coworker was driving the harvester at the front and the operator was on an elevated platform in the rear. The operator's job was to ensure the vines were being processed and the hop cones were moving from the rear harvester chutes, onto the conveyor, and into the following truck. The coworker said that he lowered the harvester to go under an overhead cross cable and then raised it after clearing the cable, just as he always had. Shortly after, he heard a loud noise and stopped the machine. He said it sounded like metal hitting metal. When he turned around, he noticed the operator was down on the platform. He called for help. The operator was carried to the ground and lifesaving efforts were started. The operator had an injury on his chin where he had apparently been struck by the cable. None of the other workers witnessed the incident, but some reported hearing the loud noise. The operator suffered a broken neck due to blunt force trauma and later died. Following the incident, investigators found: 1. The hydraulic systems on the harvester were functioning properly when examined. 2. The steel cable and a bolt on the top of the harvester showed signs of damage, possibly due to the cable being caught on the bolt. 3. A few poles that suspended the cables were leaning in the direction of the harvester, possibly due to the harvester striking and tensioning the cable. 4. Another operator reported that he had also experienced the cables getting caught and dangerously releasing while working at the rear of the harvester. He said he had learned to stoop to avoid them. RECOMMENDATIONS: FACE investigators concluded that to help prevent similar occurrences employers should: 1. Design hop growing trellises in a way that eliminates or reduces the hazard of overhead cross 2. Add guarding to the front of rear platforms to protect operators. 3. Reduce snag hazards on the top of machinery by using round socket-head bolts or domed bolt covers. 4. Train harvester drivers to maintain safe distances between harvesters and overhead cables. 5. Train and encourage workers to report hazardous conditions so they can be corrected before an injury occurs. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Accident Prevention Accidents Accidents, Occupational Agriculture Environmental Exposure Farmers Manufacturing And Industrial Facilities Mortality Occupational Health Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Staff Development Workplace

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• Keywords:
  Accident Prevention Agricultural Agricultural Machinery Agricultural Safety Agricultural Workers Equipment Design Equipment Operation Equipment Operators Exposure Levels Farm Workers Fatalities Hazards Injuries Machine Operation Machine Operators Machine Safety Protective Measures Risk Factors Safety Education Safety Measures Safety Practices Training 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:20065017
• Citation:
  Olympia, WA: Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, 71-218-2022, 2022 Apr; :1
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2022
• Performing Organization:
  Washington State Department of Labor and Industries
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Agriculture fatality narrative: hop farm harvester operator struck by steel cable
• End Date:
  20260630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:082c45ec11a5a841debd0ca8b693f599b13f0b67f31b7c9f858bf77b678416aaf49a73250ace00dde513694bda36a9725039f4d5cbf9e1a956d9f6296e12ef9e
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/229118/cdc_229118_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 278.08 KB ]