Inspection Detail

Inspection: 116314188 - Calhar Construction Company

Inspection Information - Office: Dallas Area Office

Investigation Summary

Employee #1, a new hire of Calhar Construction, Inc., was part of crew with seven coworkers, rerouting an 8 in. by 8 in. culvert between roads in Plano, TX. The company owner had dug an approximately 30 ft wide by 12 ft deep trench, with the 8 in. by 8 in. drainage culvert in the center. The rerouting of the culvert was nearly completed and the crew was backfilling the trench, although the 45-degree bends had not been installed on either end of the culvert. As work progressed smoothly and ahead of schedule, a coworker was standing on top of the culvert, giving instructions to the backhoe operator as to where in the trench to dump the dirt. Another coworker was shoveling dirt from the top of the drainage pipe, and a third was spreading dirt with a front end loader. Employee #1 and two other coworkers were operating the dirt compactors behind the loader, and the owner was sitting inside another backhoe tractor, talking on a cell phone and observing the crew's activities. The crew had been working in the trench for nearly 9 hr. when, for some reason, Employee #1 crossed over the culvert and continued packing dirt quite close behind the loader. As the operator backed up to push more dirt into low areas, he could not see Employee #1 behind him. He was killed when crushed between the loader and the compactor. The owner stated that the front end loader was equipped with two frog-eye mirrors, one on each side of the tractor, so the operator could see behind the machine as he backed up. However, the depth of the dirt varied by location in the trench. As dirt was dumped into the south side of the trench, the loader spread it, which meant at times the back end of the loader was higher than the front. This made it difficult for the operator to see directly behind him, even with the special mirrors. As a result, a person 5 ft from the back of the loader could not be seen by the operator. The two coworkers who used the compactors that day had consistently maintained a 20 ft distance from the front and rear of the loader.

Keywords: CLEARANCE, EXCAVATION, FRONT END LOADER, WORK RULES, CONSTRUCTION, EARTHMOVING EQUIP, CAUGHT BETWEEN, STRUCK BY, BACKING UP