Inspection Detail

Inspection: 108421249 - Mohawk Contracting Co, Inc

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

Investigation Summary

Shortly before 9:30 a.m. on March 2, Employee #1, a foreman with 12 years experience as an equipment operator, told two men that he was going to do some work with the Caterpillar D3 bulldozer and disappeared behind a dirt stockpile. He was working on site preparation for a small industrial park that included a storm center with a 5-ft-high berm around three sides. This berm was complete except for a 25-ft-wide spillway that was to be cut in the 12-ft-wide top of the berm. Subsequently, a county employee reported a tractor on top of a man, so one of the two other operators looked behind the stockpile and found the D3 on its rear end. It was resting at the foot of a 27-degree slope in second gear with its throttle wide open or nearly so. The hinged seat mount had become unlatched, probably on impact, and the seat was tipped back. Employee #1's head had been crushed by the roof, and he was dead. The seat belt, which was attached to the seat plate, had not been used; the use of seat belts was not required on dozers. There was no evidence that Employee #1 had lost consciousness; apparently he misjudged a rapidly deteriorating situation and did not correctly shift to neutral. Employee #1 had operated this D3 at least 20 times, probably more. The D3 had been bought new 10 years ago and had been fitted with a seat belt, a straight blade, and an approved rollover-protective canopy on the rear.

Keywords: HEAD, WORK RULES, EQUIPMENT OPERATOR, CONSTRUCTION, CRUSHED, INEXPERIENCE, BULLDOZER, LOST CONTROL, SLOPE, OVERTURN