Washington FACE Report: Foreman and Laborer Fall when Aerial Lift Struck by Vehicle
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Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Program Reports
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health’s (NIOSH) Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Program and State FACE Programs study fatal workplace injuries and prepare reports with recommendations to prevent similar injuries. The following are links to all of the items in this collection:
Documents
- Kentucky FACE Report: Commercial Roofer Falls 30 Feet Through a Skylight While Installing Roof Insulation
- Fatal Occupational Injuries in Massachusetts 2008-2013
- Fatality Assessment & Control Evaluation (FACE) Program
- Washington FACE Report: Glazier Foreman Falls From Stepladder
- Preventing Construction Falls Toolkit
- Hazard Alert: Pedestrian Workers Killed by Forklifts
- Keep Employees in Motor Vehicles Safe
- New York FACE Brochure
- Washington FACE Report: Construction Laborer Falls When Ladder Breaks
- Washington FACE Report: Pipelayer Dies when Trench Wall Collapses
- Washington FACE Report: Carpenter Falls 60 Feet from Bridge Concrete Form
- Washington FACE Report: Foreman and Laborer Fall when Aerial Lift Struck by Vehicle
- Washington FACE Report: Framer Falls 18 Feet while Sheathing Roof
- New York FACE Report: Mechanic Electrocuted when a Mobile Light Tower Contacted Powerline
- New York FACE Report: Two Construction Workers Fatally Crushed when Cement Formwork Collapsed
- Kentucky FACE Report: Construction Laborer Killed in Trench Collapse while Taking Grade Measurements
- California FACE Report: A Heating, Ventilaton and Air Conditioning (HVAC) Contractor Dies when He Falls through a Skylight
- Massachusetts FACE Report: Carpenter Fatally Injured after Falling from an Extension Ladder
- Massachusetts FACE Report: Laborer Fatally Injured after Falling from a Home under Construction
- Oregon FACE Report: Worker Falls When Ladder Slips
- Michigan FACE Information Sheet: Look for Mobile Equipment Blind Spots
- Oregon FACE Report: Collapsed roof trusses kill carpenter foreman
- Washington FACE Report: Roofer Falls 19 Feet from Roof
- Hazard Alert: Plan. Provide. Train. Prevent Fall Injuries & Deaths
- Kentucky FACE Report: 19-Year-Old Construction Laborer Crushed in Trench Collapse While Laying Sewage Pipe
- Kentucky FACE Report: Construction Flagger Struck and Killed in Two-Lane Highway Work Zone
- Kentucky FACE Report:Temporary Electrician Helper Steps into Unguarded Elevator Shaft and Dies
- Fatality Narrative: Roofing Contractor Falls 25 Feet From Church Roof
- Kentucky FACE Report: Construction Siding Subcontractor Installer Killed when Oversized Scaffolding Platform Destabilized and Telescopic Forklift Overturned
- NIOSH FACE Report - Maintenance Worker Struck by Forklift Carriage—Tennessee
- Kentucky Hazard Alert: Roofing and Construction Workers Killed Due to High Winds
- Poster: Secure it to move it!
- Oregon FACE Report: Crane Operator Killed By Falling Steel Beam
- New Jersey FACE Report: Mechanic Dies After Being Crushed Under Electrical Cabinet
- New Jersey FACE Report: Plant Manager Crushed to Death Under Fallen Pile of Steel Beams
- NIOSH FACE Report: Hispanic worker falls from residential roof
- Oregon FACE Report: Construction worker died after falling 20-25 feet from a pump-jack scaffold
- FACE Fact Sheet: Prevent Construction Falls from Roofs, Ladders, and Scaffolds
- Construction Fatality Narrative: Roofer Falls 18 Feet from Wet House Roof
- Construction Worker Killed when Trench Collapsed, Oregon
- A Tree Trimmer is Electrocuted While Trimming a Palm Tree
- A Tree Feller Dies When Struck By a Tree Limb While Felling a Fire-Damaged Tree
- Concrete Finisher Electrocuted When Bull Float Contacted an Energized Power Line
- Warehouse Worker Crushed by Forks of Laser Guided Vehicle
Summary Statement
In July 2016, a 40-year-old construction foreman died and a 57-year-old laborer was injured when a truck struck the elevated aerial lift platform they were working in, ejecting them from the platform.
December 7, 2017
Incident scene showing the aerial lift after being
struck by a truck.
Industry: Highway, Street, and Bridge Construction
Task: Installing retaining rods on bridge
Occupation: Foreman and laborer
Type of Incident: Fall
Incident Date: July 1, 2016
Release Date: July 5, 2017
SHARP Report No.: 71-160-2017
In July 2016, a 40-year-old construction foreman died and a 57-year-old laborer was injured when a truck struck the elevated aerial lift platform they were working in, ejecting them from the platform. The two men worked for a civil construction contractor that does, among other projects, bridge construction. The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) hired the contractor to replace rubber bearing pads on an expressway bridge. Their task that day was to install replacement retaining rods underneath the bridge. Also known as seismic restrainers, these rods prevent excess movement of bridge elements. They were using a self-propelled telescopic boomsupported elevating work platform or aerial lift. They positioned the lift underneath the bridge in a dirt median between two roadway ramps.
After loading equipment, they both stood on the platform while the foreman raised it and boomed out so that they could access the work area between girders on the bridge above. The work area was about 30 feet above a single lane of an elevated exit ramp.
As the foreman was positioning the platform, it was struck by a box truck traveling in the lane below. The impact spun the platform 180 degrees and ejected the workers from the platform. The foreman was thrown 50 feet horizontally, landing on a railroad track 48 feet below. He died of his injuries. The laborer fell about 10 feet and dangled from his lanyard above the road until the truck driver and a passerby helped him down. Emergency responders took him to a hospital where he received treatment for abdominal injuries.
Incident scene showing the exit ramp under the bridge and
the approximate height and position of the aerial lift when
it was struck by a box truck and how it came to rest
afterwards. The arrow indicates the direction in which
the truck was traveling.
The investigation determined
(1) temporary traffic controls were not used, exposing the two workers to an open traffic lane,
(2) traffic controls had been used on this project by the employer previously, though ramp closure was not permitted on business days, per the contract with SDOT,
(3) though the two workers were wearing full body harnesses, neither of them fixed their lanyards to the manufacturer’s provided and approved attachment points. The foreman’s lanyard was not attached to anything, the laborer tied off to the platform’s handrail.
REQUIREMENTS
- Apply the requirements of WAC chapter 296-155 Part E, Signaling and Flaggers. Then use temporary traffic controls according to the guidelines and recommendations in Part 6 of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices when operating an elevated work platform over a roadway.
See WAC 296-155-305(1)(a) - Take special precautions to meet the requirements of local ordinances or workplace safety standards, and use warnings such as flags, roped-off areas, flashing lights and barricades when setting up an elevated work platform when other moving equipment or vehicles are present.
See WAC 296-869-60020(2) - Ensure all persons on the platform of boom-supported elevating work platforms wear a full body harness and lanyard fixed to manufacturer provided and approved attachment points.
See WAC 296-869-60040(2)
RECOMMENDATION
- Employers should provide adequate on-site supervision to ensure that employees consistently follow safe work practices.
- Perform a job hazard analysis (JHA) to identify site safety hazards and ensure that workers are protected from those hazards.
RESOURCES
- Highway Work Zones and Signs, Signals, and Barricades. OSHA
www.osha.gov/doc/highway_workzones/index.html - Falls from Elevating Work Platforms. Washington State Dept. of L&I.
http://www.lni.wa.gov/Safety/HazardAlerts/ElevatingWorkPlatforms.pdf
To view the slideshow version of this narrative, click here.
This bulletin was developed to alert employers and employees of a tragic loss of life of a worker in Washington State and is based on preliminary data ONLY and does not represent final determinations regarding the nature of the incident or conclusions regarding the cause of the fatality.
Developed by Washington State Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Program and the Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH), Washington State Dept. of Labor & Industries. The FACE Program is supported in part by a grant from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH grant# 2U60OH008487-11). For more information, contact the Safety and Health Assessment and Research for Prevention (SHARP) Program, 1-888-667-4277, or visit http://www.lni.wa.gov/Safety/Research/FACE/
