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What happened?
A worker fell to the ground while standing on the track of the dozer loaded on a trailer.
The worker was removing a tarp that was being used as a rock guard. Tarps are used during transport to protect the back window of the equipment.
The worker lost their grip while holding onto the mesh guard over the side window, falling 1.9 meters onto the ground and sustained a serious back injury.
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Why did it happen?
- The mesh guards did not serve as adequate handholds, making it easy to lose balance and fall.
- Equipment handholds were not present to facilitate the safe application and removal of tarps.
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What did they learn?
- When performing field level hazard assessments, include and discuss all potential hazards and risks, regardless of the routine nature of the task.
- Refer to manufacturer’s specifications to ensure handles and grips are correctly attached to equipment.
- If no handles are in place, consider adding the manufacturer’s optional grab bars on the pillars of the cab to provide a better grip when working near the rear of the equipment.
- Ensure that standard operating procedure includes step-by-step guidance for applying and removing tarps and review the procedure with workers prior to starting work.
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Ask yourself or your crew
- How can something like this happen here (e.g. on our site)?
- What safety measures (i.e. procedures, controls/barriers) do we have in place to mitigate the risk?
- How do we know the risk controls/barriers are working?
- What improvements or changes should we make to the procedures, controls/barriers or the way we work?
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What happened?
A worker fell to the ground while standing on the track of the dozer loaded on a trailer.
The worker was removing a tarp that was being used as a rock guard. Tarps are used during transport to protect the back window of the equipment.
The worker lost their grip while holding onto the mesh guard over the side window, falling 1.9 meters onto the ground and sustained a serious back injury.
Why did it happen?
- The mesh guards did not serve as adequate handholds, making it easy to lose balance and fall.
- Equipment handholds were not present to facilitate the safe application and removal of tarps.
What did they learn?
- When performing field level hazard assessments, include and discuss all potential hazards and risks, regardless of the routine nature of the task.
- Refer to manufacturer’s specifications to ensure handles and grips are correctly attached to equipment.
- If no handles are in place, consider adding the manufacturer’s optional grab bars on the pillars of the cab to provide a better grip when working near the rear of the equipment.
- Ensure that standard operating procedure includes step-by-step guidance for applying and removing tarps and review the procedure with workers prior to starting work.
Ask yourself or your crew
- How can something like this happen here (e.g. on our site)?
- What safety measures (i.e. procedures, controls/barriers) do we have in place to mitigate the risk?
- How do we know the risk controls/barriers are working?
- What improvements or changes should we make to the procedures, controls/barriers or the way we work?
Published on 05/05/23
974 Views
A worker fell to the ground while standing on the track of the dozer loaded on a trailer. The worker was removing a tarp that was being used as a rock guard. The worker lost their grip while holding onto the mesh guard over the side window, falling onto the ground and sustained a serious back injury.
Original material courtesy of Energy Safety Canada
Related industry resources: Balance, traction and grips - Worker resources for slips trips and falls
