Struck-by injuries are produced by forceful contact or impact between the injured person and an object or piece of equipment. In comparison, a caught-in or between incident occurs when an injury is a result of the crushing force between two objects. For example, if a person’s hand is pulled into a conveyor and suffers an injury due to being pulled in and caught between the rollers.
Sources of struck-by accidents include:
- Equipment or vehicles moving in the work zone.
- Falling tools, equipment or materials.
- Operating tools or equipment.
- Moving or lifting unsecured loads.
Vehicle and equipment traffic operating within the project including dump trucks, paving equipment, rollers, and other heavy equipment create a struck-by hazard for contractors working within the project. The equipment’s large size and height creates blind spots for the operator that can extend greater than 10 feet outside the perimeter of the vehicle or equipment.
Important safety measures include:
- Don’t walk in front, along the side or behind vehicles or equipment when they are moving.
- Maintain a three-foot perimeter around all equipment. Equipment could move suddenly.
- Don’t allow work activity to overlap. No work activity should take place within the swing radius of excavation equipment.
- When one piece of equipment is lifting or putting materials or tools in place, do not place your hands on, or manually guide, the load. Use a tag line.
- Secure tools, equipment and material to prevent them from falling from heights.
- Inspect saws, grinders and other tools before use to make sure the guards are in place, the blades aren’t chipped or cracked and are in overall good condition.
- When you are using saws, grinders and other powered hand tools, always wear safety glasses and a face shield.
- Coordinate work activity to minimize the possibility for people to be near overhead work activity or moving equipment.
