Inspection Detail

Inspection: 101271211 - Volusia Construction Company Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Tampa Area Office

Investigation Summary

A SEVEN-PERSON PIPE-LAYING CREW WAS INSTALLING REINFORCED CONCRETE PRESSURE (RCP) WATER PIPE ALONG THE EDGE OF A GRAVEL ROAD. THE LENGTHS OF WATER PIPE WERE 42 INCHES IN DIAMETER AND 20 FEET LONG. A 7200-VOLT OVERHEAD POWER LINE RAN NEXT TO THE ROAD AT A HEIGHT OF 28 FEET. AFTER A 30-MINUTE RAIN SHOWER, FOUR MEN ENTERED THE 7-FOOT-DEEP TRENCH THAT HAD BEEN DUG FOR THE PIPE. THE FOREMAN OF THE CREW OPERATED A 1986 CATERPILLAR 235B BACKHOE THAT WAS BEING USED TO PLACE THE PIPE IN THE TRENCH. THE FOREMAN HAD THE BACKHOE IN THE "KNUCKLE" POSITION AND PASSED IT UNDER THE POWER LINE TO LOWER THE PIPE INTO THE TRENCH. THE TOP OF THE BACKHOE BOOM WAS 27 FEET, 7 INCHES HIGH AT THIS POINT. THE FOREMAN THEN LOWERED THE PIPE INTO THE TRENCH, WITH AN EMPLOYEE AT EACH END OF THE PIPE TO CONTROL IT, UNTIL IT WAS ABOUT 18 INCHES ABOVE THE BOTTOM OF THE TRENCH. A LABORER MOPPING THE END OF AN INSTALLED PIPE FELT AN ELECTRIC SHOCK. (THIS INJURY WAS NOT REPORTED ON THE OSHA 170 FORM.) A MOMENT LATER, THE PIPE LAYER NEAREST THE BACKHOE SAID "OH" AND COLLAPSED. HE HAD BEEN ELECTROCUTED. APPARENTLY, THE BACKHOE HAD EITHER CONTACTED OR COME TOO CLOSE TO THE POWER LINE.

Keywords: BACKHOE BOOM, OVERHEAD POWER LINE, ELECTRICAL, POTENTIAL GRADIENT, ELECTROCUTED, E C, ELECTRIC SHOCK, BACKHOE