Earthmoving Equipment Fatalities in the Construction Industry
Publication: Practice Periodical on Structural Design and Construction
Volume 22, Issue 4
Abstract
Earthmoving equipment plays an important role in most construction projects. The earth must first be moved by dump trucks, dozers, and possibly scrapers. The material is then spread and compacted by motor graders and compactors. The activities of the different pieces of equipment must be coordinated to ensure a smooth operation. Unfortunately, accidents do occur, and workers are occasionally injured or killed when mishaps occur. An investigation was conducted on 15,000 fatalities that occurred due to equipment operations during a 20-year time period. Results show that many of the victims are workers who are on the ground, whether performing work related to the equipment or performing nonrelated work. Many of the accidents occurred when the equipment was traveling in reverse, a situation that is exacerbated by the blind spots on equipment. Half of the fatalities were the result of dump truck incidents.
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Acknowledgments
This paper is dedicated to the deceased Dr. Jimmie Hinze, whose intellectual interests and life-long commitment to construction safety have had an enormous impact on generations of students, colleagues in academia, and the construction industry.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Practice Periodical on Structural Design and Construction
Volume 22 • Issue 4 • November 2017
Copyright
© 2017 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Feb 20, 2017
Accepted: Apr 10, 2017
Published online: Jun 14, 2017
Published in print: Nov 1, 2017
Discussion open until: Nov 14, 2017
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