Date: February 17, 2016
Time: 8:15 a.m.
Location: Construction Project – San Marcos, TX
Type of Incident: Near Miss – Equipment Turn-Over
Type of Injury: None
Description of Event:
On February 17th at approximately 8:15am a worker was using the front bucket of a rubber tire backhoe to transport a load of dirt on a construction project.The operator drove the backhoe over a stockpile of dirt, raised the front bucket, and started to dump the load.While dumping the load, the operator shifted the backhoe to reverse, and caused the backhoe to turn-over on its right side.The operator braced himself and kept his arms inside of the overhead canopy.The worker was wearing his seatbelt at the time of incident.No injuries were sustained in the event.
Contributing Factors:
The main factor to the incident was that the operator had the bucket elevated as he drove over the pile of dirt.When the operator started in reverse, the load of dirt inside the bucket shifted to the right and caused the backhoe to turn-over.
How to Prevent Recurrence:
1. When transporting materials, keep the bucket as low as possible.
2. Avoid driving the backhoe across the slope of a hill or stock pile of materials.Driving across the slope can cause the backhoe’s center of gravity to shift outside of the wheels and turn-over.Try to drive up or down perpendicular to the slope.
3. Never exceed the manufacturer’s recommended safe lifting capacity.
4. Slow down, and transport materials at a slow and safe speed.
5. Use the independent stabilizers to level the backhoe when operating on slopes.
6. Ensure operators of backhoes are properly trained.
7. Ensure operators are wearing seatbelts as required.
