Inspection Detail

Inspection: 119605665 - L H Cranston & Sons, Inc

Inspection Information - Office: Department Of Labor, Licensing, And Regulation Division Of Labor And Industry Maryland Occupational Safety And Health

Investigation Summary

The superintendent for L.H. Cranston and Sons, Inc., stated that Employee #1 was locking the trailer door with a chain at the end of the day, a normal procedure. The backhoe operator had driven his machine, loader end first, to the rear door of the trailer. Employee #1 was standing inside the trailer, ready to unload a tamper from the backhoe, which was raised to approximately 36 in., into the storage trailer. The normal procedure is to block the door with the backhoe's 95 in. long by 35 in. high loader bucket to keep thieves from breaking into the trailer. The backhoe operator reported that after backing a few feet from the trailer with the bucket raised, he turned in his seat to fasten the side window latch located near the rear of the cab. While he did so, the backhoe drifted forward, pinning Employee #1, who was now standing on the ground locking the roll-up door, between the loader bucket and the rear of the trailer. Employee #1 died. The backhoe operator, with 35 years experience, 5 years during his employment with this company, was filling in this day for another operator who had taken a vacation day. The JCB backhoe was in good working order.

Keywords: LOADER BUCKET, WORK RULES, CONSTRUCTION, CAUGHT BETWEEN, TRAILER, BACKHOE, INATTENTION