Text For Citation: 01 Item/Group: 001 Hazard: CRUSHING

Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970: The employer did not provide a place of employment that was free from recognized hazards that were likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees in that employees were exposed to a crush hazard between the loading dock and moving trailers. Dock Area, Door #4, 1300 Michael, Wood Dale, IL. On 8/3/03, a 17-year-old temporary agency employee under the supervision of Supreme Transportation, Inc., was fatally injured when his head was caught between the loading dock wall and the back end of a 53-foot trailer. The trailer, which was uncoupled and spotted at the time of the accident, moved back toward the dock several inches when the driver attempted to hook it up to the tractor's fifth wheel to pull it away from the dock. The employee was standing in the open dock door with his head extended outside the door. No safety practices were utilized to keep the employee from being at the open dock door behind the moving trailer. The employer did not establish dock safety rules and train employees accordingly. Supervision of the employee was not adequate. No means were used to keep the trailer from coming in direct contact with the dock wall, such as bumpers. DOCUMENTATION AND CERTIFICATION REQUIRED FOR THIS ITEM Feasible methods of abatement, among others, include: 1)Develop and implement a dock safety program for employees, which includes the following provisions: a)Policy prohibiting employees from standing/working near the edge of the dock, when tractor trailers are moving, entering or leaving the dock area. b)System for notifying truck drivers when it is safe to enter and exit the dock area. c)Policy that trailers are not to be hooked up or moved until the truck driver has verified, or another employee has verified and communicated to the truck driver, that all employees and equipment have been removed from the trailer and surrounding dock area. d)Procedures for employees serving as spotters for truck drivers, including where they will stand and how they will communicate with drivers (e.g., verbal, hand signals, flags, etc.) Consider having spotters and other dock workers wear reflective clothing or vests to increase their visibility to drivers. e)Conduct a job safety hazard analysis of the types of tasks employees perform and determine the extent of their exposure to hazards. f)Train all affected employees on established procedures and recognition of hazards. Provide additional training and supervision for inexperienced or new employees and limit their exposure to hazardous tasks and areas. g)Monitor work practices to assure compliance with safety rules. Establish and enforce discipline policy. 2.At all loading dock doors, utilize method to prevent trailers from coming into direct contact with dock wall, such as properly sized bumpers to accommodate all trailer types. Abatement note: For assistance in developing a safety program or performing job hazard analysis, see the National Safety Council's Motor Fleet Safety Manual, Chapter 7 "Employee Safety Program" and Chapter 14 "Job Safety Analysis", 4th Edition, 1996, 1121 Spring Lake Drive, Itasca, IL 60143-3201, www.nsc.org.