i
Field Manager Struck by Vehicle in Active Roadway While Taking Depth Measurement
-
2020/06/24
[PDF-2.02 MB]
Details:
-
Corporate Authors:
-
Description:In Spring 2018, a male field manager for underground-equipment-locating operations in his 40s died when he was struck by a vehicle while taking a drilling depth measurement in an active north-south roadway with a speed limit of 50 mph. The north-south roadway had two traffic lanes with a middle (center) lane. At a nearby intersection, the southbound roadway widened to two lanes and the northbound two-lane wide roadway narrowed to one lane. The posted speed limit was 50 mph. There had been a water tap break on the west side of the roadway. The Department of Public Works (DPW) foreman instructed two workers to place temporary traffic control signs ("Work Zone Ahead" and "Work Zone Begins") on each side of the roadway. Channelizing devices were placed on the east and west fog lines of the roadway in the work zone; both the northbound and southbound travel lanes were open to active traffic. A DPW subcontractor dug an excavation on the west side of the roadway and then dug a second excavation on the east side of the roadway. A directional boring machine was set up on the west side. The plan was to bore under the roadway, west to east, pull the new water pipe through and then make the connection. While the boring took place, the location and depth of the bore were monitored. The decedent and a coworker, who worked for a company that developed, manufactured and marketed instruments for underground locating were at the site to demonstrate their new locating equipment. The decedent and his coworker placed sensors on both sides of the road to assist with locating the boring head. Throughout the boring operation, the decedent had walked back and forth across the open traffic lanes, assessing the depth and location of the bore head, demonstrating the new underground locating equipment. Checking the bore depth one last time, the decedent took an older piece of equipment into the northbound travel lane. He placed the equipment on the roadway and bent over facing west to read the results. A vehicle travelling in the open northbound lane at approximately 55 mph neared the work zone. A worker ran toward the vehicle yelling and waving his hands and hard hat. The vehicle struck the decedent, propelling him in the air. He landed on the asphalt. Emergency response arrived and transported the decedent to a nearby hospital. He died several days later from the injuries sustained at the time of the crash. The decedent was wearing a Class 2 high-visibility vest at the time of the incident. CONTRIBUTING FACTORS - Occupational injuries and fatalities are often the result of one or more contributing factors or key events in a larger sequence of events that ultimately result in the injury or fatality. The following hazards were identified as key contributing factors in this incident:: 1. Lack of hazard recognition. 2. Temporary traffic control not appropriate for roadway speed limit, traffic volume, and work being performed. 3. Worker in active roadway without a dedicated spotter or flagger. RECOMMENDATIONS - MIFACE investigators concluded that, to help prevent similar occurrences, employers should: 1. Employers and employees should ensure that work zones and traffic control plans are properly set up. 2. Employers should provide job hazard analysis training to employees that includes a jobsite survey and hazard assessment to identify all potential hazards including those associated with working near an active roadway. 3. Institute a hazard awareness program to educate employees about the potential and specific hazards noted during the jobsite survey and how to minimize exposure to these hazards.
-
Subjects:
-
Keywords:
-
FACE - NIOSH and State:
-
Series:
-
Subseries:
-
DOI:
-
Publisher:
-
Document Type:
-
Funding:
-
Genre:
-
Place as Subject:
-
CIO:
-
Topic:
-
Location:
-
Pages in Document:1-17
-
NIOSHTIC Number:20061222
-
NTIS Accession Number:PB2022-100328
-
Citation:Morgantown, WV: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, FACE 18MI072, 2020 Jun; :1-17
-
Contact Point Address:MIFACE (Michigan Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation), Michigan State University (MSU) Occupational & Environmental Medicine, 909 Fee Road, 117 West Fee Hall, East Lansing, Michigan 48824-1315
-
Federal Fiscal Year:2020
-
Performing Organization:Michigan State University
-
Peer Reviewed:False
-
NAICS and SIC Codes:
-
Start Date:2005/07/01
-
Source Full Name:National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
-
End Date:2026/06/30
-
Resource Number:FACE-18MI072
-
Collection(s):
-
Main Document Checksum:
-
Download URL:
-
File Type:
