Earthmoving Equipment Fatalities in the Construction Industry

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.