CAUGHT-IN/BETWEEN PART II

Caught-in or caught-between accidents happen when someone is caught, crushed, squeezed or pinched between two or more objects. Examples include getting trapped between a barrier wall and a piece of heavy equipment, getting your hand caught in an unguarded piece of equipment or being buried by a trench cave-in. Caught- in/between and struck-by accidents account for 27% of all nonfatal injuries involving days away from work for contractors in the highway, street and bridge construction classification (NAICS 237300).

CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT AND VEHICLES

  • Ensure that backup alarms/signals are working on all equipment.
  • Use a spotter when you back equipment or vehicles in areas with obstructed views or congestion.
  • Walk around, NOT between, equipment or vehicles during work activity.
  • Make visual or verbal contact with the operator before you approach equipment or vehicles.
  • When you approach equipment or vehicles, maintain at least three feet of distance from it to avoid contact.
  • Erect barricades, warning lines or other recognized procedures to prevent others from entering an excavator or crane swing radius.

EXCAVATIONS

  • OSHA requires trench protection (slope, bench, trench box, shoring) for all excavations five feet or greater in depth.
  • You must maintain all dirt and equipment at least two feet from the edge of the excavation.
  • Ladders need to be accessible within 25 feet.
  • You must remove water accumulation within the excavation, as it can undermine the sides and increase the potential of a collapse.

POWERED TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT

  • All guards must be in place and in good condition on all power tools and equipment.
  • Never place your hands inside equipment to clean it while it’s operating.
  • Release any stored energy before performing maintenance.
  • Be aware of loose clothing, jewelry, hair or other items that could be potentially caught in rotating equipment.

Download a printable PDF and recording form here.

Members can download the audio version of this toolbox talk here.

SAFE RIGGING

Improper rigging, rigging failure and shifting loads can be a contributing cause to struck-by and caught-between injuries (part of OSHA’s Focus Four). To prevent rigging and lifting-related injuries; below are OSHA standards and safe work practices associated with rigging for material handling detailed in 1926 Subpart H: Materials Handling, Storage, Use, and Disposal: 1926.251.

INSPECTIONS

  • A designated competent person must inspect a sling and all its fastenings and attachments for damage or defects each day before you use it.
  • Inspect rigging equipment before each shift and as necessary while you’re using it to ensure it’s safe.
  • Record each inspection.
  • Remove damaged or defective rigging equipment (web slings, alloy steel chains, wire rope) from service.
  • Don’t shorten slings with knots or bolts or other makeshift devices.
  • Don’t place your hands or fingers between the sling and its load while you’re tightening the sling.
  • When the load is resting on a sling, don’t pull the sling from under it.
  • Always connect two slings with a shackle; never tie two or more web slings together.
  • Never attach a sling directly to a lifting lug.
  • Do not use a shackle-to-shackle connection.
  • Don’t stand, walk or work under suspended loads.
  • Don’t place your hands on a suspended load to control it. Use a tagline.
  • Inspect the area for overhead utilities, trees and other overhead safety hazards.
  • Store rigging equipment so that it won’t be damaged by environmental or other conditions.

IDENTIFICATION MARKINGS

  • Rigging must have permanent, legible identification markings.
  • Don’t use rigging without permanent, legible identification markings.
  • Don’t load rigging beyond its recommended safe working load.

Download a printable PDF and recording form here.

Members can download the audio version of this toolbox talk here.

CAUGHT-IN/BETWEEN

OSHA has identified four safety hazards that account for the greatest percentage of all construction worker fatalities each year. OSHA considers caught-in/between hazards as one of the Focus Four Hazards.

Caught-in/between occurs when a person becomes caught, squeezed, crushed, pinched or compressed between two or more objects or parts of an object. Unguarded moving machinery, unprotected excavations and trenches, working between moving materials and immovable structures, vehicles or equipment contribute to caught-in/between hazards. Contractors must be aware of these hazards and avoid them on the job.

CAUGHT BETWEEN OBJECTS (EQUIPMENT AND VEHICLES) AND A FIXED OBJECT (BARRIER WALLS)

  • Maintain a 360-degree awareness (head on a swivel) of moving equipment and vehicles.
  • Do not walk between operating equipment and fixed objects. Walk around.
  • Make eye contact with equipment operators or vehicle drivers before entering the operating perimeter.
  • Employers must use qualified riggers during hoisting activities for assembly and disassembly work (1926.1404(r)(1)).
  • If you’re moving a load that needs to be guided, use a tag line and let the equipment do the work.

UNGUARDED MACHINERY

  • Secure loose clothing (e.g. untucked shirt, loose sleeves, shoelaces, safety vest, jackets).
  • Moving parts on equipment should be properly guarded. If someone has removed a guard, replace it before you use the equipment.
  • Do not attempt to reach into moving parts unless you shut off the equipment, release all stored energy and lock out the equipment.
  • Remove gloves and secure loose clothing when you use drills and other rotating tools or equipment.

EXCAVATION AND TRENCHING HAZARDS

  • A competent person must be on-site during excavation work.
  • Slope or bench all excavations five feet in depth or greater. The angle is determined by the soil type (A, B or C).
  • OR protect the excavation by a trench box the full depth of the excavation or trench.

Download a printable PDF and recording form here.

Members can download the audio version of this toolbox talk here.