Inspection Detail

Inspection: 302604186 - Rockford Blacktop Construction Co.

Inspection Information - Office: Naperville Area Office

Investigation Summary

Employee #1, the foreman at the site of a new office building to be constructed, was directing a crew that was digging up a 2 in. diameter water line and installing a 6-in. diameter line. On the day of the accident, the last three sections of pipe were laid. A 2 by 4 had been placed at the end of the pipe and backfilling had started when the crew stopped for coffee. After their break, the laborers and Employee #1 left for another job, while operators of a backhoe and a front end loader resumed backfilling. One operator saw Employee #1 return, although neither saw him leave his vehicle. Apparently, Employee #1 went to mark the top of the 2 by 4 as the end of a water line because this had not been done before the crew took its break. He was leaning over the backhoe tracks to spray paint the board when the vehicle moved. Employee #1 was pulled under the equipment's superstructure and was killed. The loader operator was dumping fill into the trench when he saw Employee #1's legs and radioed the backhoe operator to stop. A can of blue spray paint was found on the ground between the 2 by 4 and the backhoe. Company policy and past practice called for employees to approach a backhoe on the driver's door side, or to signal the operator from a distance and delay approaching until the operator acknowledged the signal. The autopsy results indicated that Employee #1 had no medical or toxicological impairment.

Keywords: FRONT END LOADER, LOADER/BACKHOE, WORK RULES, EQUIPMENT OPERATOR, CONSTRUCTION, EARTHMOVING EQUIP, CAUGHT BETWEEN, CRUSHED, COMMUNICATION