| Case Name |
The fall of the drag shovel from the road shoulder |
| Pictograph |
|
| Date |
June 25, 1997 |
| Place |
Yamaguchi Prefecture |
| Location |
Construction field of the breast wall of the road |
| Overview |
In the recovery of the breast wall of the road, the drag shovel which was used for the excavation
fell from the road shoulder, and the operator was buried under it. |
| Incident |
The disaster was that the drag shovel fell from the road shoulder |
| Sequence |
* In the morning, there were arrangements for the workers and the instructions of work from the president.
Because the president and one worker did not go to the field because of attending the funeral, 2 civil engineers from the previous day and other 2 would carry out the transportation of the gravel and stone and floor digging work of the base of concrete block.
* After the instructions ended, the 4 people left the company and reached the field in around 8:30 a.m.
* After the arrival, the victim and the worker set about the work of C construction of the section.
The victim excavated using the drag shovel after removal of the stone wall, and the worker drove and stopped the uneven ground haulage vehicle on the downhill town road, and drove to the gravel storage space and the victim loaded stone and gravel drilled by the drag shovel.
* When the loading to uneven ground haulage vehicle almost finished and the victim drove the drag shovel a little backward in order to dip up the gravel at the excavation position, so it suddenly lean downward from the road shoulder, turned sideways and fell into the yard of private house. |
| Cause |
* The width of the town road which they excavated and loaded by installing the drag shovel was 2.5m at the widest point, and the width where the drag shovel was located was 2.16m. It was not enough because width of the running band (crawler) of the drag shovel was 1.52m.
* The gradient of this road is the 18 degrees, so it is estimated that the stability of the drag shovel was bad. After the investigation of the road shoulder where the drag shovel tilted and fell, the crack of the concrete pavement of which the width was as much as 40cm, was found out.
* The concrete thickness was about 5cm and the gravel under the concrete pavement collapsed and became a cavity. So it seems that the road shoulder part of the concrete broke up and shifted and the drag shovel fell. |
| Countermeasures |
* With the work using the construction vehicle such as the drag shovel, they should investigate the landforms and the geology of the workplace, and decide the type of the machine, ability, operation route, and method of the work according to the result, and carry out the work based on planning which incorporated there findings.
* Safety management, safety inspection of the field, and the persons in charge of the construction should be determined. |
| Knowledge Comment |
With the work using the construction vehicle, they should certainly plan beforehand and carry out the work based on the plan. |
| Background |
* With the work using the drag shovel, it was necessary to investigate the landforms of the work place, the conditions of the geology, width of the road, the situations of the road shoulder, effects by rainfalls, etc., and to design the plan based on the selection of the drag shovel, prevention measures of the gravel decay, and arrangements of the conductor. But they didn't.
* In this company, the safety education on excavation and operations of the machine, etc. was not carried out for the workers. |
| Sequel |
The enterprise was sent to prosecutor in Industrial Safety and Health Law contravention. |
| Scenario |
| Primary Scenario
|
Poor Value Perception, Poor Safety Awareness, Misjudgment, Narrow Outlook, Usage, Operation/Use, Regular Movement, Dangerous Movement, Malicious Act, Rule Violation, Failure, Fracture/Damage, Bodily Harm, Death
|
|
| Sources |
http://www.jaish.gr.jp/
|
| Number of Deaths |
1 |
| Number of Injuries |
0 |
| Physical Damage |
The indistinctness. |
| Financial Cost |
The indistinctness. |
| Economic Loss |
The indistinctness. |
| Field |
Civil Engineering
|
| Author |
KITAYAMA, Hiroyuki (Japan Crane Association)
|
|
