Inspection Detail

Inspection: 104455167 - Tuck Davidson Concrete, Inc.

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

Investigation Summary

During a concrete batch plant operation, materials were conveyed by a front end loader and were dumped into a hopper and weighed by an employee in the scale house 11 to 12 ft below. The approach ramp to the hopper consisted of a poured concrete base, which, over time, due to spilled sand and gravel, became flush with the top of the 16 in. I-beam that was originally approximately 8 in. above the concrete. As the loader operator approached the hopper area, the brakes failed, causing the front end loader to fall into the aggregate hopper and then to roll onto the scale house. The approximately 10 ft by 10 ft wooden frame scale house was occupied by Employee #1 and a truck driver. The truck driver was pulling Employee #1 out by her hand when she was crushed beneath the front end loader. Employee #1 died. The truck driver and the loader operator escaped without injury. The loader operator had only two months part-time experience operating heavy equipment. The loader involved in the accident was a different model and had a different pedal configuration from the loader that he had operated the previous workday.

Keywords: FRONT END LOADER, BRAKE, RAMP, BUILDING COLLAPSE, EQUIPMENT FAILURE, CRUSHED, INEXPERIENCE, FALLING OBJECT, UNGUARDED