Construction Fatality Narrative: Laborer Falls from Wall While Setting Trusses [2022]

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Washington (State). Department of Labor and Industries
• Description:
  This document has been superseded and the new version can be found here. Near midnight on July 29, 2019, a 45-year-old semi-truck driver died when he was crushed under the tires of his rollaway chip truck. The driver was at a sawmill in Washington State picking up a load of woodchips for a pulp mill in British Columbia. It was his second and last load of the night. He parked his truck on a road at a fall protection tarping station that he used to access the top of his trailer to level his load. The road had a 2% downhill grade, and the driver did not set his parking brake before he left the cab. While the driver was walking on top of his load near the back of his trailer, his truck began to roll forward. He ran on his load toward a ladder at the front of his trailer that went down to a walkway behind the tractor. He fell to the road at some point after he went over the edge of his trailer to climb down the ladder. The only other driver at the mill was parked behind him but left without seeing the incident. Around two hours later, another truck driver pulled into the worksite and found the fatally injured driver crushed to death under his tractor's left front drive tires. CONTRIBUTING FACTORS: Key contributing factors identified in this investigation include: Parking brake requirements in APP not followed. Inadequate truck parking brake policy in APP. Lack of rollaway response procedure in APP. Ineffective worksite and driver safety audits. RECOMMENDATIONS: Washington FACE investigators concluded that, to help prevent similar occurrences, employers should: Develop parking brake policies in APP that require using the safest rollaway prevention and response practices. Install electronic parking brake systems that automatically apply the parking brake when the driver has not set it before exiting the cab. Ensure that safety supervisors can travel to conduct safety audits at shipper and customer sites located across national borders. Request shippers and customers to perform recurring worksite safety audits. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Accident Prevention Accidents Environmental Exposure Mortality Occupational Health Preventive Medicine Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Staff Development Workplace

  More +
• Keywords:
  Accident Prevention Equipment Maintenance Equipment Operation Exposure Levels Fatalities Haulage Vehicles Hazards Injuries Preventive Measures Risk Factors Sawmills Sawmill Workers Task Performance Training Traumatic Injuries Truck Drivers Work Environment Workers

  More +
• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Publisher:
  Washington State Department of Labor and Industries
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Case Studies
• 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:
  1-23
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20065122
• Citation:
  Olympia, WA: Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, 52-52-2022, 2022 Apr; :1-23
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2022
• Performing Organization:
  Washington State Department of Labor and Industries
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  484230 - Specialized Freight (except Used Goods) Trucking, Long-Distance - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Driver crushed under tires of rollaway chip truck
• End Date:
  20260630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:d1136dcff089e65f40220b5e8f7b825996198dd546d6f0919183f4735262697756517987c9cc5836adc9bfd44f0167a9789c88d0420c0b9c79effa985a2256ab
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/229120/cdc_229120_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.27 MB ]