Inspection Detail

Inspection: 302883426 - The Six M Company, Inc.

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

Investigation Summary

Employee #1, a truck driver for Crouse Construction, Inc., was preparing to use a 30 ft demolition trailer to haul away 18 ft to 20 ft long bridge pilings from a work site. Coworkers from Six M Construction, Inc., were rigging them to a 70-ton American crawler crane and loading them onto Employee #1's trailer. As the boom was being lowered to the trailer with the first load, the load line was raised and the two Six M coworkers standing at the rear of the trailer were signaling to the crane operator. At one point during the lift, the suspended load extended between 3 and 4 ft beyond the back end of the trailer, and Employee #1 climbed to a platform at the front of the trailer and began waving his arm in a "come on" motion to the crane operator. At this time, the load, which was unbalanced, became caught on either the rear side or the rear floor edge of the trailer and suddenly shifted with a pendulum motion. It moved rapidly forward, striking Employee #1 in the face and neck and knocking him 9 ft 6 in. to the ground. He died of multiple head and neck trauma. The Six M Construction Company was cited for apparent violations of 29 CFR 1926.550(a)(4) and 29 CFR 1926.550(b)(2).

Keywords: LOADING, HEAD, CRAWLER CRANE, LOAD SHIFT, CAUGHT BY, CONSTRUCTION, NECK, STRUCK BY, FLYING OBJECT, UNSTABLE LOAD