Inspection Detail

Inspection: 300610169 - Maclair Asphalt Company, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Fairview Heights Area Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 8:30 a.m. on October 5, 1999, a laborer, was observing the discharge of asphalt from a tractor trailer dump truck into the hopper of a Roadtec SB-2500B Shuttle Buggy machine. Somehow, his fingers became entangled in a chain that secured the tailgate of the dumper. As the bed of the truck rose in the air, the chain drew tighter around the laborer's fingers, causing extreme pain and injury. Employee #1, a paver operator whose machine was on the opposite end of the Shuttle Buggy, saw him struggling to get free. He left his position and ran along the left side of the Buggy, climbed over a barrier guard, and jumped onto the pile of asphalt inside the hopper in an attempt to free his coworker. At the bottom of the hopper was an auger that drew the asphalt onto a conveyor belt system. This auger was running when Employee #1 climbed into the Buggy. Within seconds, the asphalt pile had disappeared and he became caught by the auger and drawn into the conveyor system. Employee #1 was killed.

Keywords: ROTATING PARTS, WORK RULES, BELT CONVEYOR, CAUGHT BY, CONSTRUCTION, CRUSHED, CONVEYOR, AUGER, ROAD PAVING