Front-end Loader Runs Over Worker

A machine operator was killed when he was run over by a front-end loader at a city’s salt stockyard. The victim, employed by a liquid de-icer company, was walking around the loader working area. An equipment operator backed the loader out of a storage shed and struck the victim, who was not wearing a high-visibility safety vest. The loader was lacking two side-mounted mirrors and there was no radio communication between the victim and the city’s equipment operators.

Does your workplace have a traffic control plan to coordinate movements of all workers at the site, whether they’re on foot or operating equipment? It’s also important to keep up with repair of equipment, and have standard procedures for informing visiting contractors of potential hazards and ensuring everyone wears a safety vest.

Source: New York Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Program, Case Report 04NY002