Inspection Detail

Inspection: 107199739 - Sussex Warren Holding Co.

Inspection Information - Office: Parsippany Area Office

Investigation Summary

Employee #1 was told to grade an area of soil with a 30-ton Caterpillar bulldozer. The tracks of the dozer were frozen in the ground due to extremely cold temperatures. Employee #1 purposely wedged an 8-inch long pipe against the shift mechanism to keep the machine in gear, accelerated the throttle to 3/4 capacity, and climbed off the machine, thereby allowing the machine to move forward without an operator once it became dislodged from the frozen ground. Within a few minutes, the bulldozer began to move forward. Employee #1 attempted to climb back onto the dozer. He stepped on the arm of the front blade with his left foot and was crushed and killed by the tracks of the bulldozer.

Keywords: WORK RULES, CONSTRUCTION, EARTHMOVING EQUIP, STARTED IN GEAR, CRUSHED, MIRED, UNMANNED, BULLDOZER