Fadley Faisal
Following a worker dying after being pinned by a dump truck bucket in an accident on January 12, the Safety, Health and Environment National Authority (SHENA) advised the relevant industries to take safety precautions to avoid such incidents.
This can be done by ensuring the dump truck bucket is adequately supported before working on it.
Workers are also told to not rely on the truck’s hydraulic system to hold the dumper bucket up while working under it.
Safety is ensured by engaging the dumper-bucket lock bars before performing tasks under a raised dumper-bucket, as this will give permanent support and prevent accidentally lowering or the sudden drop of the dumper-bucket body.
SHENA also strongly discouraged ‘homemade’ arrangements as a means of support. The dumper buckets are to remain fully lowered at all times, and regular inspections and maintenance must be done to the mechanisms by a competent person.
Operators are advised to check the operator’s manual or consult the original equipment manufacturer.
SHENA reminded the public to perform risk assessments to identify potential hazards, and if any is found, to eliminate or control the hazards immediately, before starting work.
The agency also recommended workers to avoid or minimise working alone.
SHENA reported that the worker was pinned between the battery steel frame cover and the angle iron guard rail underneath the dumper bucket of a dump truck while he was trying to fix the truck battery. The worker died at the scene.
