Inspection Detail

Inspection: 314736943 - Arnold Bros. Concrete, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Tampa Area Office

Investigation Summary

On July 21, 2010, Employee #1 was a permanent employee working for a concrete company as the driver of a gunite truck. The company had been contracted to install a swimming pool and spa in Ft Myers, FL. Employee #1 had delivered gunite material, a combination of sand and cement mix, to the location. A four-person team was also at the accident site to spray and shape the gunite as it was dispensed from the gunite truck. The crew was positioned forty to sixty feet away from the truck; they last saw the driver heading toward the truck with a shovel. Although the truck was empty at the time of the accident, the crew's supervisor assumed that the driver was going to the truck to bang the shovel against the sides of the bin. This act would have loosened any sand that had become stuck inside on the wall of the bin. It was often done by drivers, but only from the outside. Minutes later, the supervisor released one of the crew members to see if the driver needed assistance. The truck was empty, and no product was being dispensed by the truck. The crew member arrived at the truck but could not locate the driver. The truck's auger, which was still in operation at this time, made it difficult to hear. The crew member remained at the rear of the truck waiting for the driver. It was at this time that he noticed a piece of clothing being expelled from the auger. He quickly turned the truck off and immediately notified his supervisor. The shovel was found on the top edge of the sand bin undamaged. The supervisor found Employee #1 inside the truck's sand bin, caught in the 9-inch auger located in the bottom of the bin. The supervisor called emergency medical services. The driver was alive when he was extracted from the auger, but he died on the scene while being attended to by emergency responders due to leg amputations. The mobile gunite truck was a 1989 International industrial truck which contained two bins. One bin held sand, and the other held cement mix. The truck had a 9-inch diameter auger, 17 feet, 7 inches in length, which ran through the bottom of both bins. The auger transferred sand from the sand bin to the cement mix bin. The two materials were combined and sent to another auger, the mixing auger, located at the rear of the truck. The mixing auger was located outside the truck bins. It extended 9 feet, 9 inches in the rear of the truck. Although there was a ladder located at the rear of the truck, the only time it was used was when the driver visually inspected the load to ensure that a full load was received when material was being loaded into the truck. The loading area was located at the employer's establishment in Cape Coral, FL. The mobile gunite truck had several warning labels posted on the outside of the truck warning of the dangers of the auger, including serious injury, amputation, and death. The driver had been employed eight months. He had received guidelines and training on driver responsibilities on November 20, 2009.

Keywords: SAND SILO, AMPUTATED, SAND, CONCRETE TRUCK, WORK RULES, CAUGHT BY, LOCKOUT, AUGER, LEG, TRUCK DRIVER