Fall 2005 - Ontario Sewer and Watermain Construction Association
Fall 2005 - Ontario Sewer and Watermain Construction Association
Fall 2005 - Ontario Sewer and Watermain Construction Association
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“Struck-By”<br />
Accidents<br />
Superintendents <strong>and</strong> company owners<br />
need to ‘walk the walk’<br />
“<br />
You need to look into how many times vehicles<br />
<strong>and</strong> machines have bumped into objects<br />
– because that could have been a worker. You<br />
only get one chance with an accident like<br />
this <strong>and</strong> generally it is fatal. This is very<br />
unforgiving equipment to be around. It doesn’t respect<br />
you, doesn’t care about you, weighs 20 tonnes more than<br />
you <strong>and</strong> does not stop when you are in its path.” Jim<br />
LaFontaine is serious <strong>and</strong> wants workers to listen well. He<br />
is in charge of health <strong>and</strong> safety at Dufferin <strong>Construction</strong>,<br />
<strong>and</strong> does not want to see any more “struck-by” accidents.<br />
“Struck-by” accidents occur when workers are struck by<br />
moving equipment. By<br />
April this year, the industry<br />
already had two fatal<br />
struck-by accidents.<br />
Struck-by accidents have<br />
now replaced electrocution<br />
as the second leading<br />
cause of death in construction.<br />
Even worse,<br />
every struck-by accident is<br />
preventable, <strong>and</strong> safety<br />
proponents want to make<br />
sure workers <strong>and</strong> supervisors<br />
are taking the extra<br />
precautions necessary.<br />
LaFontaine said that<br />
his company is always<br />
looking at areas where<br />
safety can be improved<br />
to prevent struck-by<br />
accidents. “We’ve installed back up detection devices<br />
that have sonar units that send out a signal that an<br />
object is behind. That technology is now available for<br />
large off-road equipment <strong>and</strong> we are in the process of<br />
testing it,” he said.<br />
By Cheryl Rego<br />
“Secondly, we’re looking at the camera system. We’ve<br />
installed cameras on the back of our three fuel trucks <strong>and</strong><br />
they are equipped with an audible microphone. As soon<br />
as the transmission is engaged the camera is turned on<br />
inside the cab <strong>and</strong> the driver cannot just see, but also hear<br />
what is going on behind him. It has a140-degree visibility<br />
with a fish eye lens,” LaFontaine explained.<br />
However, even with the best technology, LaFontaine<br />
stressed that the primary safety tool is the operator. “The<br />
operator must always check over the shoulder for the<br />
blind spot. These [new technology] devices are an added<br />
secondary safety feature,” he said, “One of the big prob-<br />
lems is that the equipment travels as fast in reverse as it<br />
does in driving forward.”<br />
LaFontaine is adamant that adequate awareness training<br />
is essential to accident prevention. “The biggest problem<br />
is that the workers on the ground assume the<br />
The Undergrounder /<strong>Fall</strong> <strong>2005</strong> • 17
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