Keeping an eye out

In the past six years, 37 workers in four Midwest states have died as a result of “struck by” vehicle accidents. Struck-by injuries and fatalities are caused by forklifts, vehicles and other powered industrial equipment, such as cranes and yard trucks.

These 37 deaths accounted for 15 percent of all workplace fatalities investigated by the Kansas City Regional Office of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) during that period.

“Struck-by vehicle accidents are preventable with proper training and awareness,” says Marcia P. Drumm, OSHA acting regional administrator in Kansas City. “OSHA is continuing its regional outreach initiative in Missouri, Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska to educate workers and their employers about preventing such accidents,” she adds.
 

Keeping count

Causes of struck-by accidents often involve reverse vehicle movement into a pedestrian outside the driver’s field of vision or vehicles falling off ramps, inclines or unstable ground. Accident prevention strategies include ensuring backup alarms are functional, walking the periphery of vehicles before operating, staying alert, obeying all traffic rules and signs, minimizing distractions, inspecting and maintaining vehicles, using safety belts and turning on headlights.

Of the 37 vehicle related fatalities:

• Fifty-seven percent involved a vehicle striking another worker, while in the remaining 43 percent of fatalities the operator was the victim.
• More than one-third of fatalities involved either forklifts (18 percent) or semitrucks (21 percent).
• Seventy percent of these accidents were at general industry work sites, 24 percent were in construction and 6 percent were in agriculture.
• Nineteen percent of these incidents were at employers with 10 or fewer employees, while 46 percent were at midsize companies with 11 to 100 employees and the remaining 35 percent were at larger employers with more than 100 employees.
• Forty-six percent of the victims were older than 50, while 32 percent were between ages 26 and 50 and 22 percent were age 25 and younger.

Nationally, struck-by injury rates have been on the increase, as well. For this reason, a regional strategic work group was assembled to look at different ways to help employers minimize these injury and fatality rates. The group developed educational materials called Evaluate Your Entire Surroundings, or E.Y.E.S.
 

Make a difference

“Employers, you are the one single group that makes a significant difference when it comes to injury prevention,” Drumm says. “It is incumbent upon you to examine your business and evaluate whether your employees are at risk from being struck by vehicles or other mobile equipment.”

Once employers have identified hazards in the workplace, they should consider whether employees:

• Have been trained about these vehicle-related hazards and
• Are prepared with strategies desgined to eliminate the potential for a struck-by accident.

The following preventive strategies also merit consideration:

• Conducting a job safety analysis;
• Requiring preuse inspections;
• Raising injury awareness by sharing near-miss information openly with one another;
• Evaluating the work site operating environment; and
• Limiting vehicle and equipment operating speed.
  
   

Risk assessment

Vehicle and mobile equipment operators should conduct a risk assessment (think of the acronym RISKS—recognize, identify, share, know safety) to identify hazards and prevent accidents. Carrying out a risk assessment can be simple; most employers carry out small risk assessments, anyway, for example in checking up on the skills and experience of new drivers (i.e., assessing any risks involved in having them drive). A systematic risk assessment could save time, save money and lives.

The following are the five steps involved in performing a risk assessment:

1. Recognize the hazards. Where might accidents happen? (Example: moving a load with a forklift or moving a vehicle in a lumberyard)
2. Identify who is at risk. How might they be harmed? (Example: Does the driver know where everyone is? Is his or her vision obstructed? Are all safety features of the vehicle or equipment functioning? Is the operator fully prepared to operate the vehicle or equipment?)
3. Assess risk. Assess whether existing precautions are adequate or whether more are needed.
4. Control the hazard. (This might be the decision to not operate the vehicle/forklift.)
5. Review the risk assessment periodically and if circumstances change.
   
    

Prevention strategies

Accidents occur when operators are not familiar with the capabilities and limitations of the vehicle, truck or forklift; an operator does not perform a proper preoperational examination; or another person moves into a vehicle’s path and is struck or pinned. Preventing operator errors begins when operators:

• Stay alert and make safety the first priority. Inattention is a leading cause of accidents;
• Expect the unexpected and pay close attention to employees and activities around them;
• Obey all traffic rules and signs;
• Minimize distractions and refrain from listening to music or using their phones when working;
• Inspect and maintain their vehicles;
• Turn on their vehicles’ headlights so they are visible to others;
• Use safety belts;
• Get plenty of rest and refrain from operating the vehicle when fatigued; and
• Refrain from operating a vehicle if they have been drinking or using drugs. (Even over-the-counter medications may cause drowsiness.)
  
   

Safety tips

Safety should be priority No. 1 at all times. Workers need to be reminded not to become so focused on the task at hand that they lose awareness of their surroundings. Other things for operators to keep in mind include:

• Becoming familiar with their vehicles – Operators should check and read the operators’ manuals and know the limitations of their vehicles.
• Ensuring proper operation – Operators should perform a preoperational inspection to make sure the vehicle and its features are operating as they should.
• Checking before moving – Prior to moving their vehicles, operators should identify and check blind spots; ensure vehicles are clear of ground personnel; use horn signals; use radios, if needed; use spotters, if needed; and use convex mirrors to enlarge their viewing areas.
• Being aware of road conditions – Operators should be familiar with traffic patterns and changes, poorly drained areas, soft shoulders, washed-out areas, ice and snow drifts and cracks or unstable conditions related to where they are traveling.
• Reducing vehicle speed where conditions warrant – Operators should slow down in response to road conditions that may warrant it.
• Being familiar with company safety procedures – Operators should know what the company requires in case of accidents, runaway/rollover, engine failure, steering problems, brake failure, tire failure and fire.

Additional information

Additional information is available at www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/construction/struckby/vehicles.html.

E.Y.E.S. materials are available in English and Spanish. The materials include a one-page fact sheet with incident data and prevention strategies; an “OSHA Region 7 Informational Guide for Preventing Struck-By Accidents;” a brochure that covers risk assessment steps, common operator errors and safety tips; and a laminated poster.

Electronic copies of materials as well as limited printed copies can be obtained free by contacting OSHA’s offices in St. Louis at 314-425-4249; Wichita, Kan., at 316-269-6644; Kansas City, Mo., at 816-483-9531; Omaha, Neb., at 402-553-0171; or Des Moines, Iowa, at 515-284-4794. Please request to speak with the duty officer when ordering.

Cathey Cromley’s 37-year U.S. Department of Labor career includes more than 30 years with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). She is a program analyst in OSHA’s Kansas City regional office and a member of the region’s strategic struck-by work group.