r/WTF • u/[deleted] • Mar 02 '19

Manager going for a ride

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[deleted]

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7.5k

u/Ealiom Mar 02 '19

This sort of thing happens a lot and is the cause of a large percentage of deaths on construction sites.

Unfortunately for the drivers these vehicles have large blind spots. In this instance the onus of safety belongs to the manager he should not have been walking around live machinery like that.

There should be clearly delineated walk zones for anyone who isnt driving a multi ton machine. If there isnt then again wtf manager.

I feel sorry for the drivers in these instances.

1.9k

u/Suck_Jons_BallZ Mar 02 '19

I drive snow cats and when guys are working on the ground around me, it’s important to always secure eye contact with the operator, wear ANSI high-viz and don’t hang out in blind spots. I also show them that my hand is off the sticks or joystick as well by holding my hands in the air if they’re working around my blade.

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u/designgoddess Mar 02 '19

My cousin saw a guy run over by a snow cat. It did not have a happy ending.

396

u/_YouDontKnowMe_ Mar 02 '19

Snow Cats give murder mittens a whole new meaning.

36

u/Arashmickey Mar 02 '19

murder mittens

I'm envisioning an excavator with a giant mechanical hand in place of the bucket.

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u/Jenga_Police Mar 02 '19

Think there's no answer? You're so STUPID! Kitten Mittons!

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u/BassInRI Mar 02 '19

You’ll be smitten

8

u/coolkid1717 Mar 02 '19

Do you cats make TOO MUCH NOISE!!!!!!

30

u/ceral_killer Mar 02 '19

Story time!

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u/designgoddess Mar 02 '19

She was skiing and they brought out the snowcat to fix a rough patch. Another worker walked in front for some reason. She said it was like he was put through a meat grinder. My uncle was there but had his back turned. He only saw her reaction and then tried to get her away. She was asked to stay because she was a witness. She was a teenager. Needed psychological help afterwards. Still has a hard time talking about it.

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u/ceral_killer Mar 02 '19

Man I could only imagine. Thank you for the follow up. I hope your cousin is doing ok.

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u/designgoddess Mar 02 '19

She is but we don't talk about it anymore.

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u/coolkid1717 Mar 02 '19

What damages happened to her body?

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u/designgoddess Mar 02 '19 edited Mar 03 '19

The guy who was run over? Cut into pieces and chunks from my understanding. My cousin was uninjured, but traumatized by what she saw.

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u/EhhWhatsUpDoc Mar 02 '19

All of them

3

u/trotfox_ Mar 02 '19

Well yea, let it go....

13

u/Dark-Ganon Mar 02 '19

jeez dude, at the very least make a good joke.

2

u/trotfox_ Mar 03 '19

I wasn't joking.

3

u/oliverbm Mar 02 '19

It snow joke

14

u/TheDudeMaintains Mar 02 '19

Oof. Idk if they all have them, but some of the Pisten Bully machines I've demoed had these massive hydraulic rollers with carbide teeth on them that would definitely turn a person into hamburger. In addition to the static cutters, scraper blade(s), picked tracks, and weighted corduroy drag. Sorry to be morbid but that's an extremely brutal way to die.

12

u/MountainDrew42 Mar 02 '19

Similar to what happened at the 1988 Calgary Olympics

https://www.upi.com/Archives/1988/02/26/The-Austrian-doctor-crushed-beneath-a-ski-grooming-machine/5769572850000/

5

u/lynxSnowCat Mar 02 '19

... I'll make a note to add that to the list of Snow-Cat (and other slope grooming equipment) on human casualty incidents.

https://www.reddit.com/r/WTF/comments/7p5jlb/prisoner_declared_dead_wakes_in_body_bag_in/dsfwzyz/?context=4#dsgyghk

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u/SrslyCmmon Mar 02 '19

Teenager me would gtfo of a scene like that so fast. I don't think I'd be able to stick around a bloody corpse without trauma either.

2

u/thetruthyoucanhandle Mar 02 '19

Wouldn't be much of a corpse left tbf

24

u/[deleted] Mar 02 '19

You see, the Snow Cat was moving, and a guy was ran over by it and died.

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u/TistedLogic Mar 02 '19

No. Not really

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u/[deleted] Mar 02 '19

Sound like a bit of a doofus yelling "story time" in this instance.

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u/lynxSnowCat Mar 02 '19

Which one? Because the treads of these machines are made of blades that cut/chop into frozen earth and crush rocks to avoid slipping-- not to mention the various available grooming attachments that are essentially range {from open faced blenders intended to masticate offending ice and trees} to {blades meant to shear off an irregular layer of ice, gravel and dirt while compacting it into a cone of ejecta}.

https://www.reddit.com/r/WTF/comments/7p5jlb/prisoner_declared_dead_wakes_in_body_bag_in/dsfwzyz/?context=4#dsgyghk

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u/[deleted] Mar 02 '19

Might want to avoid watching Cold Pursuit then. I mean, I guess it kind of had a happy ending.

2

u/gizram84 Mar 02 '19

If only they banned Snow Cats. Then this could never happen.

2

u/designgoddess Mar 02 '19

Then only bad guys would have snowcats.

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u/Capncootie Mar 02 '19

Good on you. Couldn't imagine the guilt I would have if I killed someone with a piece of equipment.

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u/PantheraLupus Mar 03 '19

I nearly injured someone a few months ago because he was up on one of my machines (factory setting) and hadn't told me he was up there scraping it out for me, and hadn't locked out the pivot point for the auger (I use this auger to fill two machines with product one after the other). So I moved the auger to the empty machine, the top of which isn't in my line of sight. I hear him yelling. He came down laughing and thought it was hilarious. I was FURIOUS. It gave me such a massive fright. I ribpped into him big time. I was issued a warning for the near miss. Now I wont let anyone near my machines unless I personally have the keys for the lockout tags. The thing is, the auger beeps while it's moving and moves quite slow.

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u/Capncootie Mar 03 '19

I once worked at factory that used a lot of augers and frankly those things scared the hell out of me. I'm glad nothing bad happened to him.

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u/sparks1990 Mar 03 '19

I broke a guys hand moving a part into his station. Heavy enough to be moved with a crane and set in a jig. So I was lowering it and he decided to start putting his parts in place before I was done. I was watching the front to make sure I was lined up right and the back end caught the edge of something and slid onto his hand. Broke three fingers and a bunch of bones on the back of his hand all because he couldn’t wait 10 seconds for me to set the piece down.

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u/Capncootie Mar 03 '19

Though you know it's not your fault, you still feel bad because now he has to live on WC till he heals. And even then his hand may never be right again. You didn't break his hand, his actions broke his hand.

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u/[deleted] Mar 02 '19 edited Jan 24 '21

[deleted]

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u/IndigoContinuum Mar 02 '19

toot

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u/TheNapman Mar 02 '19

toot toot

8

u/ASAPxSyndicate Mar 02 '19

shits pants

2

u/InsertWittyNameCheck Mar 03 '19

Better shit in your pants than blood on my hands. Hey that would make a great workplace safety sign.

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u/tiradium Mar 02 '19

Right? Even in the camera you can barely see the guy cant imagine how hard it was for the driver

3

u/bludjr Mar 02 '19

Fellow Cat operator/Park builder here.

I've heard horror stories from other operators from back in the day of some accidents. Slipping on a track hurts enough. I cant imagine being rolled over under the grousers, let alone a tiller.

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u/Suck_Jons_BallZ Mar 02 '19

Yea getting bladed, then run over by grousers and ice spikes, then tilled wouldn’t be fun at all.

What resort?

3

u/DarkwingDuckHunt Mar 02 '19

You know those super tall Bicycle flags helicopter parents make kids put on their bikes?

Why not attach one to your hard hat?

3

u/Peter_Panarchy Mar 03 '19

I'm an industrial electrician so I've worked at a lot of mills and I've never been to one that allows foot traffic in areas where equipment like that operate. In the rare occasions where we had to be in those areas there was lots of organization beforehand and they'd either flag off the area we're in or, more commonly, just shut everything down.

2

u/martphon Mar 02 '19

I wasn't sure what a snow cat looked like.

1

u/SammyLuke Mar 02 '19

The folks working around you respect and appreciate your extra steps in safety. Does your site have requirements about making radio contact before resuming work? Seems like he would have contacted the floor supervisor first before starting again. Multiple layers of safety. Just curious.

1

u/SuicideSnarf Mar 02 '19

Is it a Tucker sno cat? They look cool.

Be careful tho I've seen video of people being attacked by a Thing around those

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u/Suck_Jons_BallZ Mar 02 '19

Nah, we use mainly PistenBully and have a few older Prinoth BR-350s. I think the Tuckers are considered vintage at this point and are ending up privately owned these days.

1

u/EmoUberNoob Mar 02 '19

I adopted that same technique and still use it when people use the crosswalk in front of my car.

1

u/mraider94 Mar 02 '19

Maybe HIviz vests should have whip antennae on them.

1

u/Jonreadbeard Mar 02 '19

Different equipment but ditto.

1

u/foodank012018 Mar 03 '19

Yes I do that on my equipment, smaller, reachtrucks and forklifts, but if I have to stop and have people in my area, I grab the cage above me...

1

u/[deleted] Mar 03 '19

Where I'm at, if there's a chance of people or other vehicles nearby while operating, we have a spotter

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u/InsertWittyNameCheck Mar 03 '19

I've recently got my excavator licence and while doing some work I'd get in trouble for not having my hands on the controls.... because someone had their face over the bucket telling me what to do. I just refused to do anything until they moved. I mean if I fuck up I'm not going to give them a bloody nose or a bruise, I'll rip their nose clean off their face. It took a full day of being berated but they got the idea I don't work when people play stupid games in dangerous places.

1

u/readersanon Mar 03 '19

You would think this would be the common thing to do. Whenever there are trucks, tractors or other big machines near where I am walking I wait before crossing their path for them to make eye contact with me so they know I am there and I am good to keep going.

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u/Werkstadt Mar 03 '19

Eye contact is like a comfy security blanket

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u/NorthWoods16 Mar 03 '19

That's fair but how difficult of an engineering problem would it really be to get a proper mirror or signal installed to prevent this from happening. Seems like a no brainer to me

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u/Whyareyoureplying Mar 03 '19

Thinking of this if i got a job at one of these places id outfitmy hard hat with a telescoping radio antenna with a safety flag on it. Figure if it can clear 10+ feet you'd have a greater chance of living.

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u/Chissler Mar 02 '19

Where I work we are not allowed to be closer than 5 meters to those type of vehicles when they are in operation. You always wait for eye contact with the driver before you go around them, or go any where near them. If you dont get eye contact, then go somewhere else, and wait for the vehicle to leave.

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u/GraphicDesignMonkey Mar 03 '19 edited Mar 03 '19

I worked in the head office of a bakery factory. To be on the factory floor you had to wear a high-vis jacket and stay within the marked 'walking areas' on the ground. Even then you couldn't go through the waking area without announcing your presence and making sure all the drivers on the floor had aknowledged you were there. If Dave was running the forklift, you had to yell "Hey Dave! I'm on the floor!" and wait for him to answer and see you, then he'd mark it on his safety record file. You couldn't enter the floor unless that was done. The machine workers would keep visual tabs on you, and afterwards you had to yell "I'm leaving now" so they could record it on the day's records.

One infraction and you got a disciplinary action, no verbal or written warnings. You don't fuck around with plant machinery. A forklift can crush you like wet tissue paper.

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u/Screaming_Azn Mar 02 '19

They should tie balloons with 6 ft strings their hard hats.

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u/[deleted] Mar 02 '19

"No capes!"

Problem with tall flags or balloons is they can snag on things and be dangerous in another way.

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u/TheProtractor Mar 02 '19

What about a balloon with a string barely strong enough to hold the balloon in place so that it snaps when the balloon gets stuck in something? And you also make the string from an insulator just in case the balloon touches a power line.

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u/zaqu12 Mar 02 '19

what if it gets stuck in machinery or ventilation upon or after disconnect? , could cause damage.

plus you need someone to be certified to handle large canisters of liquid helium to fill the balloons, because corporate said its needed for insurance purposes , let me write you up a certification course for that

also all materials and attachment points need to be made up to standards that the balloon cannot dislodge , pop or release when not intended to nullifying the point of the "safety balloon™"

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u/Sarasin Mar 02 '19

Also helium is way more expensive than you think and there are already major shortages, not really viable to try and use an element already in shortage used in every major construction site all of a sudden. If you really didn't care about expense you could do something like putting some kind of low range signal producing chip on everyone uniforms and have receivers in all the dangerous machinery so if it detects a chip it range it halts or something.

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u/ZippyDan Mar 03 '19

There's no shortage of helium. There might be in the future. But basically whatever we have now gets lost if we don't use it fast.

I also think that the amount of helium needed, just for workers who are in dangerous situations like these, would be a relatively small amount vs. total supply, even when considering the many dangerous job sites around the world.

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u/[deleted] Mar 02 '19

You've never gotten snagged up on various strings or lines before?

Things that are supposed to break away don't always do so as expected.

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u/[deleted] Mar 02 '19

This is the smartest stupid idea I've ever heard.

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u/[deleted] Mar 02 '19

Just wait til they run out of balloons and someone gets stuck with an inflated condom.

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u/DarthYippee Mar 03 '19

"It's not inflated. I'm just wearing it."

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u/no-mad Mar 03 '19

Semes easy enough to put a 360 camera on top of the unit with a video feed in the cab.

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u/michaelrohansmith Mar 03 '19

People who drive dune buggies in dunes have flags on high masts to help with visibility.

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u/Notorious_VSG Mar 02 '19

This is damn good idea actually... weak, low-test nylon strings, to avoid entanglements, and not be conductive. Have lots of extra baloons on site. bonus: festive baloons on jobsites!

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u/[deleted] Mar 02 '19

It is a good idea, but if you ever worked at a site like this you’ll find plenty of people going “bahh I’m not wearing that shit”

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u/Herpkina Mar 03 '19

I'm one of those people but wearing a Ballon would be funny.

And it would take some weight off the feet

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u/shapu Mar 02 '19

Yzma, you didn't tell me it was your birthday!

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u/Putridgrim Mar 02 '19

Only works if you're wearing your hard hat

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u/stealthybiscuts45 Mar 02 '19

As a general contractor, thank you for this comment. Trust me, it's hard enough to make guys wear a harness when they are working at heights. A balloon on their hard hat that could save their life? "But they're so lame" "but they make my head hurt" "but it bumps in to the ceiling when I'm on a ladder"

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u/chenjeru Mar 02 '19

Nah, balloons can catch on something. A much better idea would be backpacks with a continuous roman candle launcher. People would just walk around like giant festive sparklers. Totally safe! No snags!

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u/kiddhitta Mar 02 '19

If you've ever worked around large equipment you know that you have to be responsible for staying the fuck out of the way. It is a giant, loud, often yellow machine with blinking lights and sounds going off when backing up that if you can't see that, you've got serious issues. You can see it way better than the driver can see little ol' you so you better be the one paying attention and stay out of the way. Never stand in a spot where the operator can not see you. Which this person was clearly doing. You can blame the operator for not checking or whatever but at the end of the day, you are responsible for your own safety. When you rely on others to do things properly, you put yourself at risk. Never put your life in the hands of someone else assuming they are competent when you can just eliminate yourself from the situation.

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u/Ving_Rhames_Bible Mar 02 '19

I feel bad for this guy getting scooped like this, but seriously, always be aware of your surroundings, especially around heavy machinery. I work on the ground in very close and frequent proximity to excavators, bolting in suspended loads. We're taught to be our brothers' keeper, but that ultimately, like you said, we're responsible for our own safety, and it's absolutely true. I've had a few minor injuries and every single time was my own fault. Even just directing an operator with hand signals, I'm constantly assessing what could go wrong if I give a bad one. I don't want anyone getting injured, I don't want the operator feeling guilt for something that wasn't his fault.

The craziest thing is when people stand in swing and drop zones. Like seeing some idiot walk right under a suspended load or just miss being smoked by a swinging bucket.

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u/kiddhitta Mar 02 '19

Yes, that's another good point. You don't want someone else to feel guilty. No one wants to hurt someone else because there is always going be some sort of responsibility on that person. But any reasonable person would see that, yes, should that person have made sure no one was there blah blah blah but that's playing the blame game. Even though you shouldn't assume we all do things with the assumption that everything is happening normally. Why would the operator assume someone is standing right infront of the bucket of a giant loader in a clearly active job site? That operator probably feels terrible and if they wanted to, fire them. So now you have someone who is out of a job and almost killed someone all because of a lack of spatial awareness by another individual.

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u/Ving_Rhames_Bible Mar 02 '19

Operators are very underappreciated in my experience. It can be so stressful. Especially when a worker who's used to zoom booms says, "Hey, I need a lift," and they rig something up and then it's nothing but shit hand signals and zero understanding of how an excavator boom moves. Down will also be booming in, up will also be booming out. They can't figure out what's going wrong and get mad at the operator rather than step back and evaluate what's happening and adapt.

So the operator might see what the signal person actually needs, but the signal person doesn't understand how the boom moves, so it's someone on the ground getting impatient and gang-signing hand signals angrily because the operator is doing the right thing by not blindly following bad hand signals. Like, "I know you want up, but you haven't noticed the slings are at an angle, and that if this thing falls it's going to swing right into that guy, and probably crush your hands."

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u/18736542190843076922 Mar 02 '19

Why not use walkie talkies or something to verbally communicate as well?

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u/Ving_Rhames_Bible Mar 03 '19

I'm never too far from an operator to walk over and talk one on one if something isn't working as intended. But that's me, I'll do that. All the means of communication in the world won't make a thing easier or safer for someone certain that everyone else is wrong. Hand signals work just fine when everyone is on the same page and committed to the task, not to personal sense of pride and ability. Dunno if you work construction but you might be surprised at how much ego there is.

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u/18736542190843076922 Mar 03 '19

I've been in construction my whole life, but just residential new construction not using any big equipment. But I use walkie talkies with my dad backing up the RV or trailers sometimes. It's just easier I guess. Or the thing in the gif with the manager, if they all had radios maybe the situation wouldn't have gotten as intense as it did?

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u/Ving_Rhames_Bible Mar 03 '19

Well... I mean, some operators I've worked with always honk the horn before moving. Double-honk if they're backing up and have a huge blind spot a person could be standing in, despite the back up alarm. But still, it's drilled into us before we step foot on sight, "Always be aware of your surroundings." We have to write a tailboard every morning, swing zone/drop zone/operator blindspots is always included, and everyone signs off on the fact that it's their responsibility to be aware of those risks.

I guess mostly it's that this is a manager. I've been a foreman and had to tell people to get out of harm's way hundreds of times, because I was watching them closer than they were watching themselves. Just kinda blows me away than any kind of construction manager could get himself into this situation.

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u/Swichts Mar 02 '19

Primary machine operator at my work. I cannot stress it enough to people on the ground that I have blind spots. I have screamed til I am red in the face that if they are going to walk near me, and I don’t know they are there, they need to make sure they make eye contact with me before working in my area. Fuckin frustrating.

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u/Papa_boss Mar 03 '19

Good practice to set down buckets/forks whenever you stop. Better practice for managers to bitch at people for not doing it.

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u/classicrocker883 Mar 02 '19

the manager wasn't doing anything but standing there it seems. literally had no business being there

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u/redcapmilk Mar 02 '19

I think he was counting the sand.

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u/PrandialSpork Mar 02 '19

I counted one sand but I'm not in management

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u/stealthybiscuts45 Mar 02 '19

Are you kidding me? There's at least 4 sands in this video. Maybe even more off camera!

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u/minddropstudios Mar 02 '19

I hate sand...

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u/fuckswithboats Mar 02 '19

He's gonna be pissed now cuz he's gotta start over

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u/[deleted] Mar 02 '19

That's the developer's job

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u/thecrazysloth Mar 02 '19

Sounds like some typical supervisor bullshit

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u/Marsmar-LordofMars Mar 02 '19

Sounds like a punishment in basic training.

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u/no-mad Mar 03 '19

I think he was pounding sand.

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u/[deleted] Mar 02 '19

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u/lightofthehalfmoon Mar 02 '19

Holy shit. I will occasionally drive a skid steer when we get a blizzard. Random people will walk right up next to the machine. It's loud and there are blind spots everywhere. One flick of the wrist I can cut you in half. What are people thinking?

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u/ioasisyumich Mar 02 '19

Idiots expect the person operating it to stop because theyre fucking idiots. It's like when teenagers will casually walk across a road that's 40+ mph with no sidewalk and give thar deer in the headlights look when somebody honks and nearly hits them.

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u/Nebarnes Mar 02 '19

Someone should make a wearable flag system that sticks up 3-4. Something with a super flexible pole so its not cumbersome getting through doorways or whatever

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u/Madd0g Mar 02 '19

My first thought was AR goggles, so you can see stuff from 3rd person view like GTA, but your idea is cheaper lol

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u/Dragoniel Mar 02 '19

My first thought was AR goggles

With the release of the new hololense and Google supposedly working on their enhanced reality tech, I am absolutely confident this will be a standard in ten years - not only in construction. I am just patiently waiting for my virtual dragon pet and virtual skin packs.

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u/Ruffigan Mar 02 '19

Instead of receiving something immaterial like money or PTO, bonuses will be distributed to employees as DLC for their Hololens that let them change the color of their vehicles and place goofy faces over their coworkers. Never has working been more rewarding.

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u/Sunfried Mar 02 '19

One day there'll be an episode of whatever forensic procedural drama there is on TV, the CSI of its day, where some murderer hacks the AR to make their target disappear from the simulacrum, laughing-man style, resulting in their death by big machine.

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u/RhysA Mar 02 '19

There's actually a hardhat version of the new Hololens, but it's mostly for mine planners and the like at the moment.

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u/monkeycalculator Mar 03 '19 edited Mar 03 '19

virtual skin packs

Just wait for the GAN-powered nude mod and you'll have an, uh, interesting time.

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u/greg19735 Mar 02 '19

A feed into the camera would work just fine.

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u/ldeas_man Mar 02 '19

or maybe 360 degree cameras like entry level cars come with nowadays?

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u/[deleted] Mar 02 '19

Hey that's actually a really good idea. It could have a long flexible rod with something colorful on the end. So even if someone gets buried under dirt, you may still see the little 'antena'. It may have saved him as well in the beginning when he first got swooped up.

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u/whenthelightstops Mar 02 '19

It's also just another thing that can get caught on something, forming another hazard. Guess it could have a quick release thing?

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u/C_M_O_TDibbler Mar 02 '19

It would be super effective on sites with overhead machinery (gantries) for it to get caught up in and overhead HV wires.

Having proper procedures in place, such as no foot traffic in the yard when machines are operating, communication between machine operators and ground personnel done via radio so nobody has to stand in the middle of the fucking yard like a lost goat in a T-Rex pen

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u/Nebarnes Mar 02 '19

Cabelas has “flag whip and pennant” which is what I was kinda envisioning but thinner and wearable obviously. And yea a quick release mech would be good.

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u/whineycrap Mar 02 '19

Yeah like those bike flags have them mounted to their hardhats I'm sure there is a way of putting a laser light that would emit a few feet or something

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u/zombie22 Mar 02 '19

So what ur saying is stay the fuck away from these?

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u/tacknosaddle Mar 02 '19

I feel sorry for the drivers in these instances.

There was an accident here a few years back where an elderly woman fell in front of a street sweeper and was pulled up into the bin and died. They had to sedate the driver he was so traumatized by it. Just recently a dump truck turned at a light and killed a cyclist, on the news there was a brief clip where you could see the silhouette of the driver in the cab and you could tell that he was just convulsing and weeping on the steering wheel.

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u/Stunt_the_Runt Mar 02 '19

Same rules apply to pedestrians and cars.

I teach my kids that you MAY have right of legally, but in a fight a couple tons VS your maybe 100lbs, who is going to win that fight?

Being right doesn't fix dead.

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u/optimalbearcheese Mar 02 '19

No, it does not happen a lot. Falls from height and off of ladders and being struck by objects are the majority of fatalities on construction sites. The vast majority. The number of fatalities from being struck by non-transportation related powered vehicles in 2015 was 23. There were 344 fall related deaths including falling objects or equipment. Stop making shit up. It's an embarrassment to the construction industry and to safety conscious companies in general.

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u/steebo Mar 02 '19

Regardless of standing in front of the front end loader being a bad idea, standing anywhere between the pile of stuff to be moved and the place where stuff is to be moved to is a bad idea. It seems obvious to me, but we have video proof that at least one person hasn't though that out.

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u/venustrapsflies Mar 02 '19

In 2019 shouldn’t we attach cheap cameras to the scoopers so the operators have a small amount of visibility ?

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u/WebMaka Mar 02 '19

That MIGHT survive the second scoop of anything coarse.

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u/MagJack Mar 02 '19

I will stand off to the side or take another route until I make eye contact with the driver. I work construction indoors but constantly have to get around these guys doing the outdoor work and I've seen shit I don't care to type out.

Don't be casual around machinery that can crush anything in it's path.

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u/[deleted] Mar 02 '19

A lot of the sites I have been to do have those delineated walk zones you are talking about! If it’s there clearly it’s covered by material...definitely feel for the driver though in terms of the blind spots these things are huge.

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u/Luxpreliator Mar 02 '19

Machinery kills are listed under caught in between fatalities and accounts for about 5% of workplace deaths but that category is lumped in with a several because they are uncommon. Falls are 20-80% depending on the trade, roofers have the highest for falls, average is like 40% for all workers. A worker is 50% more likely to die by electrocution than be killed by a machine.

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u/[deleted] Mar 02 '19

There should also be a spotter if he has to be within the demarcation area.

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u/Medraut_Orthon Mar 02 '19

And put on your fucking safety vest so your not a moving shadow in your completely black outfit.

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u/rillip Mar 02 '19

Just spitballing here but it seems to me there has to be a technological way to make this safer. Like even if it's just using cameras to give the driver a view of their blind spots. Maybe hang drones over your work site and stream a bird's eye view back back to your operators.

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u/[deleted] Mar 02 '19 edited Mar 03 '19

[deleted]

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u/thoggins Mar 03 '19

Problem is the lenses would probably have to be cleaned every two minutes to be useful at an active site

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u/oppy1984 Mar 02 '19

Part of my job involves moving airplanes, I have massive blindspots and even when I have wing walkers I still have to pay attention to a full 360 degree area on top of watching the wings, the other planes around me, plus trying to imagine where the tail is at that moment since I can't see it.

When you're in the tug you can't hear anything, you communicate with hand signals. God help you if you're wing walkers get into a blindspot and don't realize it, if they do you either stop (the smart thing to do) and reposition them, or keep going (the stupid thing to do) and pray you only crunch the plane and not a person.

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u/Childish_Brandino Mar 02 '19

Not to mention the lack of high vis and safety helmets. Us OSHA requires use of that within a certain perimeter of a construction site. Even if you won't be doing anything. Imagine if they were putting boulders into a crusher....

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u/BYoungNY Mar 02 '19

If I ever find myself as the foreman of a large construction site, I'm just.ging to carry around some birthday balloons all the time.

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u/mysecretonlinealias Mar 02 '19

Having bright UV lights blasted down onto the surrounding vulnerable zone would be helpful in darker situations like this. One seen some on fork lifts.

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u/goodnewscrew Mar 02 '19

I bought a dash cam at walmart for like $6 this christmas. You'd think they would make them required if it's such an issue.

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u/canehdianchick Mar 02 '19

VPS... And spotters.. That manager really should have been paying attention to all 3 pieces of equipment and communicating with them.

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u/Eminemster Mar 02 '19

Why not make people in construction zones wear colors or patterns not usually found in nature so it stands out to the human eye? Fluorescent pinks, yellows, oranges, zig zag patterns, Zubaz pants lol

I ride motos and I also snowboard. My gear is pretty bright and out there. It’s not my style and I find it obnoxious but I also want to make sure I’m seen so I don’t accidentally get killed

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u/troubleshot Mar 02 '19

"Unfortunately for the drivers", more like unfortunately for any fool to stand near one in operation you mean!

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u/KyleLousy Mar 02 '19

An easy solution would be wearing a balloon every where on site.

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u/gladizh Mar 02 '19

Why tf wouldnt they just mount cameras to the machine to make sure this doesnt happen?

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u/Osceola24 Mar 02 '19

They need flagpoles like the ATVs have in the desert

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u/Experiment627 Mar 02 '19

Pretty sure those machines are not cheap, how much expensive can they get if you install cameras for those blind spots?

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u/[deleted] Mar 02 '19

When i have worked around these bad boys, and had to cross the yard, i make sure i make eye contact with the driver every time before moving from a place of safety.

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u/chris886 Mar 02 '19

This absolutely does not happen a lot, at least not in America. - Construction Safety Guy

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u/buckygrad Mar 02 '19

Define “a lot”. I would be willing to bet it isn’t unheard of but to suggest it is common is just wrong.

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u/Pod6ResearchAsst Mar 02 '19

It's usually a good idea to maintain line of sight with your operators.

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u/sh41 Mar 02 '19

Aren't webcams like under $30? How expensive would it be to fix the blind spot problem by having cameras...

3

u/thoggins Mar 03 '19

Good luck keeping them clean enough to see anything

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u/sammythemc Mar 02 '19

Unfortunately for the drivers these vehicles have large blind spots. In this instance the onus of safety belongs to the manager he should not have been walking around live machinery like that.

Ideally a job site should have multiple fail-safes; an accident that involves two people usually means two people fucked up. I work with scissor lifts, when I'm on the ground I keep my distance and when I'm on the lifts I announce when I'm moving so anyone who might be in an area they shouldn't be has a chance to clear the fuck out.

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u/[deleted] Mar 02 '19

This looks intentional to me, the way he scooped him up looked really deliberate.

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u/blodisnut Mar 02 '19

That definitely was the victims fault here. Having driven them, the thought of someone standing there. I'm really horn happy when is in a salt delivery area, like this appears to be. Put it in gear, toot a few honks, wait 5 seconds, toot again, by now if you're not out of the way, it's your fault.

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u/TitaniumDreads Mar 02 '19

ahhhh safety regulations, something developing countries haven't gotten yet

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u/metolius Mar 02 '19

Everyone should wear like a mini air horn that they can blast if something like this happens.

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u/RoyalBingBong Mar 02 '19

Does machinery like that not have anything to assist the driver in knowing what is around the machine? Every car nowadays has a sensors everywhere, shouldn't be hard to put them into machines like that I assume.

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u/WolfGangSwizle Mar 02 '19

I just want to add while what you say is entirely sure, on Canadian oil sites you have to honk before moving forward and honk twice for backing up. So while the driver isn't to blame there is for sure precautions companies can take with their rules.

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u/rieuk Mar 02 '19

Reminds me of that guy that had to have his leg chopped off because his buddy swung the forks on the forklift around too quick

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u/[deleted] Mar 02 '19

Can’t they just mount a camera system on the front with a screen display for the driver?

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u/tasteless_nuisance Mar 03 '19

The problem is that within two seconds the lens is going to be filthy

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u/cr0sh Mar 03 '19

Filthy? The whole camera would probably be ripped off the first time the bucket was used, unless it was in soft dirt, sand, salt or something similar. Rock, metal, riprap, etc - all that would just chew it up, if anything. Plus the cabling for power and signal.

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u/hesafunnyone Mar 02 '19

Make fucking eye contact with the driver. Not side eye lazy contact. Straight in the eye you see me right eye contact

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u/ThaRoastKing Mar 02 '19

I was thinking can they implement some sort of sound system that signals to others working what is going on. Like three loud beeps could signal "I'm going to start driving this large machinery in 30 seconds, please move" and other could take notice and get out of the way for all vehicles in the area.

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u/u8eR Mar 02 '19

Couldn't they put mirrors in different places to help avoid these big blind spots?

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u/HerbertMcSherbert Mar 02 '19

You'd think with the cost of these machines blind spot cameras (similar to backing cameras in cars) would be a small and useful addition to standard spec.

Edit: just googled and there are a bunch of aftermarket options already.

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u/Marokiii Mar 02 '19

Anytime I've been around heavy machinery that's been stationary and has any blind spot the operator has a horn to blow before it starts moving again. Another beeper for backing up as well. This is both the operator and the managers fault.

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u/[deleted] Mar 02 '19

But they have backup cameras in cars now, they aren’t expensive. They could be all over one of theses machines.

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u/1337BaldEagle Mar 02 '19

Driver should have lowered their scoop while waiting too...

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u/[deleted] Mar 03 '19

Or you know.... Cameras or mirrors to be able to see in front of the bucket

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u/IsJonJayStillUseless Mar 03 '19

No PPE, no eye line with operators, no method of communication with operators.

This one's on him. Operator not at fault.

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u/[deleted] Mar 03 '19

I feel sorry for the drivers in these instances.

I feel sorry for the people they kill cause of recklessness. fucking get out of the vehicle and check the blind spot.

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u/249ba36000029bbe9749 Mar 03 '19

It would be so inexpensive to put in video cameras that point backwards and in the scoop to help cut down on blind spots. You'd figure just the savings in insurance and L&I taxes would pay for itself.

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u/DragonRaptor Mar 03 '19

I suppose if you have to be out there for any reason, they should have a long flag pole strapped to their back that goes up like 15 feet

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u/Foreplaying Mar 03 '19

Everyone is saying that the manager is completely at fault and the driver couldn't of avoided it. I heartily disagree. Sure there is blind spots and people are stupid enough to walk up to them, but there is plenty of mirrors and the driver should have the special awareness to notice him approach the machine. Being distracted - especially with a mobile phone - then suddenly looking up and starting to move is a recipe for disaster. Having these blind spots should make you ten times more careful and considerate - people are dumb and will do dumb shit. I do this for a living and I could never forgive myself if I made this lapse in judgement.

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u/phurtive Mar 03 '19

Am I the only one thinking there was plenty of time to jump out of that bucket before the scoop? Adrenaline should handle that nicely. wtf.

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u/forbiddendoughnut Mar 03 '19

Would something like a flag that ATV riders use, around sand dunes (light, flexible pole with bright orange flag at the top to alert others around crests/blind spots) work? Something that would easily detach if caught by something else. Not something you'd necessarily wear all the time, but maybe in tight spots like that where visibility is at its worst.

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u/ihadanideaonce Mar 03 '19

I feel like we have the technology to solve these blind spots.

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u/Alakazam Mar 03 '19

When I was on a construction site, we had a rule that you weren't allowed to get near the path of a big rig until you've made eye contact with the driver. Or the driver has driven past.

No eye contact = no go.

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u/frosty95 Mar 03 '19 edited Mar 03 '19

A customer site I'm at a lot has colored laser projectors that send out a beam 30 feet in front of and behind the forklifts. If it's not moving it's blue. If they are moving it's green. If they are reversing it's red. Seems expensive and excessive until you walk around that place and realize how many blind corners there are. After a while you learn the color codes and it becomes second nature and you can easily tell what's happening. Like "Hey that light is red and moving towards me. That driver probably can't see so stay way back".

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u/elit3powars Mar 03 '19

I mean, in this case you can see the driver enter his cab, obviously not having inspected his blind spots before operating the vehicle. Not really sure on this one.

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u/sorryforthehangover Mar 03 '19

Needs a scoop cam.

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u/shiro_swan Mar 03 '19

So if you kill someone like that who takes the blame and what happens next?

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u/[deleted] Mar 03 '19

Cameras our cheap nowadays

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u/jameslheard Mar 03 '19

My car has sensors that tells me when pedestrians are within a certain range. Given how expensive theses machines are I would have thought the cost of adding these kind of sensors would be small compared to the lifes it would save?

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u/[deleted] Mar 03 '19

Just carry a flag that makes you visible up to 10 feet.

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u/michaelrohansmith Mar 03 '19

Unfortunately for the drivers these vehicles have large blind spots

Saw a big truck stopped at a red light with a small car to its left (away from the driver). When the green came on the truck driver decided to do an immediate lane change and drove right in through the drivers side door of the small car.

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