SAFETY ALERT - 29

UNSAFE USE OF EXCAVATOR -LESSON LEARN

What happened?
On 30th January 2019, the crew used an excavator bucket lifting hook to hold the 14 inch pipeline section for tie in
welding activity. The position of excavator was too close to the edge of the trench which is 4.2 meter in depth. In order
to adjust the sand bag to suit proper pipe positioning, two workers went inside the trench and were on the line of fire, if
in case, the trench could have collapsed or lifted pipe from the excavator bucket hook falls on the ground.

Few Facts:
The use of excavators for lifting operations, particularly on construction sites, has become more common over
the last few years. Excavators and backhoes are designed for rapid earth moving and are not designed for
lifting operations as their principal function. When planning a lifting operation, the crew should firstly consider
whether an excavator is the most appropriate machine, taking into account the type of lift and the duration of
task.

What could go wrong?

The use of unrated lifting points on an excavator has the potential to expose workers to harm by the:
Ø sudden failure of a bucket tooth, lifting hook or sling, which can lead to
o loss of control of the lifted load
o a failed bucket tooth becoming a projectile hazard to surrounding workers, including the excavator
operator
Ø Instability of the excavator if the lifted load exceeds the excavator’s tipping load

Things to do to prevent similar incident

Ø Do not take short cut to lift any load by rigging the sling on the teeth (PRONG) of excavator bucket.
Ø Do not use the excavator for tie in activities in deep trenches more than 2 meters depth.
Ø Do not position the excavator at the edges of the trenches. For getting the approach in deep excavations
could be resulted in collapsing the excavation and over turn of the excavator into trench.
Ø No person to be positioned under the line of fire of lifting. For any adjustment of gunny bag etc. it should
be only done after the load reaching up to ground level.
Ø Use tag line to hold the load by positioning personnel out of the edges of the pipes not in between trench
wall and the pipe.
Ø Site HSE and Supervisors are to monitor these unsafe acts and correct it immediately. Close supervision
is required for such critical activities.
Ø The excavators with lifting hook (third party certified as lifting equipment) could be used for lifting small
loads on level ground/excavations up to 2 meters only as per its lifting capacity/load chart.
Remember! Prevention is better than Cure
TEAM WORK TOWARDS HEALTH, ENVIRONMENT AND SAFETY!
WORKING TOGETHER TO PREVENT INCIDENTS