Caught in or -between hazards 2019

CONSTRUCTION FOCUS 4:
CAUGHT-IN OR BETWEEN
HAZARDS

OVERVIEW
• The purpose of this lesson is to provide workers with information that will enable
them to recognize common caught-in or between hazards at construction
worksites.
• This lesson is comprised of the following four topics:
1. What is a caught-in or –between hazard?
2. What are the common types of caught-in or –between hazards in construction?
3. How can I protect myself from caught-in or –between hazards?
4. What is my employer required to do to protect workers from caught-in or – between
hazards?

TOPIC 1: WHAT IS A CAUGHT-IN OR –BETWEEN
HAZARD?
A. Definition
B. Examples
C. Statistics

HAZARD?
A. DEFINITION
• Key factor in making a determination between a Caught event and a Struck event
is whether the impact of the object alone caused the injury.
• When the impact alone creates the injury, the event should be recorded as Struck.
• When the injury is created more as a result of crushing injuries between objects, the
event should be recorded as Caught.

HAZARD?
A. DEFINITION
• Events that should be classified as Caught include:
• Cave-ins (trenching)
• Being pulled into or caught in machinery and equipment (this includes strangulation as
the result of clothing caught in running machinery and equipment)
• Being compressed or crushed between rolling, sliding, or shifting objects such as semi-
trailers and a dock wall, or between a truck frame and a hydraulic bed that is lowering

HAZARD?
B. EXAMPLES
• Caught-in or between hazards in construction cause accidents such as the
following:
• A worker was ripping a 6-inch piece of wood on an unguarded compound miter saw.
His left thumb was caught and amputated.
• An employee was performing diagnostic work on a water truck at a construction site.
The worker crawled under the operating truck. The employee’s work shirt collar
became caught on a projecting set screw on the rotating pump shaft. The set screw
pulled him into the pump shaft. The employee died en route to the hospital.

HAZARD?
B. EXAMPLES
• Caught-in or between hazards in construction cause accidents such as the following:
• A worker climbed onto an I-beam to clean muck off the tail pulley of a conveyor belt
attached to a separator. While the conveyor system was energized and in operation, the
employee reached between the feed and return of the belt in front of the tail pulley with his
hand to brush the muck off the belt. He was caught by the moving belt, and his hand and
arm were pulled into a pinch point in the tail pulley. The employee’s arm was fractured.
• A worker was sitting in the bottom of a 9.5-foot deep trench, setting grade for concrete
pipe while the employer was installing additional shoring. During the shoring installation,
the west wall at the south end of the excavation caved-in and covered the worker. There
was no shoring or protective system at the location of the trench. The employee was dug
out by coworkers and the fire department and survived.

HAZARD?
B. EXAMPLES
following:
• An employee and a co-worker were working in a 9-foot deep excavation installing
water pipes, when the south side of the excavation caved in on the employee and
buried him. The employee was killed.
• A worker was operating a road grader when the engine died and the vehicle began to
roll toward a small ravine. The employee jumped of the grader but was pulled under
the grader as it overturned. He was killed when he was crushed underneath the tires.

HAZARD?
B. EXAMPLES
following:
• An employee was working from an aerial lift which was in the “up” position, under an I-
beam. He accidentally came into contact with the “drive/steer” lever, which made the
manlift move. The employee was killed when he was pinned between the I-beam and
manlift control panel.
• A worker was cleaning an asphalt paving spreader. Another worker was repairing a
pavement roller. The roller was accidently put into motion and it rolled toward the
spreader. The first employee was injured when he was pinned between the two
machines.

HAZARD?
C. STATISTICS
• In 2008, Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that the total number of fatal
work injuries involving caught-in or –between hazards remained about the same
for all private industry as in 2007.
• However, the number of fatalities has increased by approximately 10% since 2003.
• In 2008, the private construction industry alone accounted for 92 of the caught-in
or –between fatalities, approximately 23% of the total.

HAZARD?
C. STATISTICS
• Fatalities involving caught-in or –between hazards in the private construction
industry has decreased by about 20% since 2003.
• The biggest decrease in caught-in or –between fatalities in the private
construction industry has been excavation or trenching cave-ins.
• There were 44 such fatalities in 2003 and only 16 in 2008
• 975 private-industry construction workers died on the job in 2008, with 92 of
them (9%) killed as result of caught-in or –between hazards

HAZARD?
Review Exercise

TOPIC 2: WHAT ARE THE COMMON TYPES OF CAUGHT-
IN OR –BETWEEN HAZARDS IN CONSTRUCTION?
A. Machinery that has unguarded moving parts causing caught-in or –between
incidents
B. Buried in or by
C. Pinned between

• Some of the working conditions that contribute to caught-in or –between hazards
include:
• Machinery that has unguarded moving parts or that is not locked out during
maintenance
• Unprotected excavations or trenches
• Heavy equipment that tips over
• Collapsing walls during demolition
• Working between moving materials and immovable structures, vehicles, or equipment

A. MACHINERY THAT HAS UNGUARDED MOVING PARTS MAJOR HAZARDS
• Almost all site use machinery that has moving or rotating parts or that requires
maintenance or repair at some point during construction.
• If machinery is not properly guarded or de-energized during maintenance or
repair
• Injuries from caught-in or –between hazards may result
• Ranging from amputations and fractures to death

A. MACHINERY THAT HAS UNGUARDED MOVING PARTS
• When machines or power tools are not properly guarded
• Workers can get their clothing or parts of their body caught in the machines.
• If machines are not de-energized (locked-out) when they are being repaired
• They may cycle or otherwise start up and catch a worker’s body part or clothing and
cause injury or death
• Workers can be trapped and crushed under heavy equipment that tips
• Especially if they are thrown from the equipment

Report #18
Brief Description
A three-man crew was
installing an underground
telephone cable in a
residential area. They had just
completed a bore hole under
a driveway using a horizontal
boring machine. The bore
hole rod had been removed
from the hole. While the rod
was still rotating, the operator
straddled it and stooped over
to pick it up. His trouser leg
became entangled in the
rotating rod and he was
flipped over. He struck tools
and materials, sustaining fatal
injuries.

Report #5
Brief Description
A laborer was steam cleaning
a scraper. The bowl apron
had been left in the raised
position. The hydraulically
controlled apron had not been
blocked to prevent it from
accidently falling. The apron
did fall unexpectedly and the
employee was caught
between the apron and the
cutting edge of the scraper
bowl. The apron weighted
approximately 2500 pounds.

Report #38
Brief Description
An employee was driving a
front-end loader up a dirt
ramp onto a lowboy trailer.
The tractor tread began to
slide off the trailer. As the
tractor began to tip, the
operator, who was not
wearing a seat belt, jumped
from the cab. As he hit the
ground, the tractor's rollover
protective structure fell on top
of him, crushing him.

B. BURIED IN OR BY
• Unprotected trenches and excavations.
• Cave-ins crush or suffocate workers.
• Trenches may contain hazardous atmospheres
• Workers can drown in water, sewage, or chemicals in trenches
• If working around underground utilities:
• Workers may also face burns, electricution or explosions from steam, hot water, gas or
electricity

B. BURIED IN OR BY
• Workers who are working underneath large scaffolds may also be buried if the
scaffolds collapse.
• Workers may be buried and crushed by wall that collapse during demolition.

Report #22
Brief Description
An employee was installing a
small diameter pipe in a
trench 3 feet wide, 12-15 feet
deep and 90 feet long. The
trench was not shored or
sloped nor was there a box or
shield to protect the
employee. Further, there was
evidence of a previous cave-
in. The employee apparently
reentered the trench, and a
second cave-in occurred,
burying him. He was found
face down in the bottom of the
trench.

Report #61
Brief Description
An employee was working in
a trench 4 feet wide and 7
feet deep. About 30 feet away
a backhoe was straddling the
trench when the backhoe
operator noticed a large
chunk of dirt falling from the
side wall behind the worker in
the trench, he called out a
warning. Before the worker
could climb out, 6 to 8 feet of
the trench wall had collapsed
on him and covered his body
up to his neck. He suffocated
before the backhoe operator
could dig him out. …[see report]…

TOPIC 3: HOW CAN I PROTECT MYSELF FROM
CAUGHT-IN OR –BETWEEN HAZARDS?
A. Use machinery that is properly guarded
B. Use other methods to ensure that machinery is sufficiently supported, secured
or otherwise made safe
C. Protect yourself from being pinned between equipment, materials, orother
objects
D. Protect yourself on excavation sites
E. Training

A. USE MACHINERY THAT IS PROPERLY GUARDED
• Never remove a safety guard when a tool is being used.
• Hazardous moving parts of power tools and equipment need to be safeguarded
• For example, belts, gears, shafts, pulleys, sprockets, spindles, drums, fly wheels, chains
or other reciprocating, rotating, or moving parts are exposed to contact by workers
• Be sure to avoid wearing loose clothing or jewelry that can be caught in moving
parts

B. USE OTHER METHODS TO ENSURE THAT MACHINERY IS SUFFICIENTLY
SUPPORTED, SECURED OR OTHERWISE MADE SAFE
• Make sure that your equipment is de-energized and cannot be started accidentally.
• First, disconnect tools when not in use, before servicing, and when changing
accessories such as blades, bits, and cutters
• Turn off vehicles before you do any maintenance or repair work
• If possible, lockout the power source to the equipment.
• The type of power may be electric, pneumatic, liquid fuel, hydraulic, or powder
actuated.
• Lower blades of bulldozers, scrapers, and similar equipment before you make repairs
or when the equipment is not in use

C. PROTECT YOURSELF FROM BEING PINNED BETWEEN EQUIPMENT, MATERIALS, OR OTHER OBJECTS
• Be aware at all time of the equipment around you and stay a safe distance from it.
• Never place yourself between moving materials and an immovable structure,
vehicle, or stacked materials.
• Make sure that all loads carried by equipment are stable and secured.
• Stay out of the swing radius of cranes and other equipment.
• Wear seatbelt, if required, to avoid being thrown from a vehicle and then
potentially being crushed by the vehicle if it tips over.

D. PROTECT YOURSELF ON EXCAVATION SITES
• Do not work in an unprotected trench that is 5 feet deep or more. The type of
protection may be one of the following:
• Sloping or benching. Sloping is cutting back the sides of the trench to a safe angle so it
won’t collapse. Benching uses a series of steps that approximate the safe sloping angle. The
angle depends on the soil type.
• Trench box or shield. These do not prevent cave-ins but protect the workers who are in
them if a cave-in happens.
• Shoring. Shoring are wooden structures or mechanical or hydraulic systems that support
the sides of an excavation.

D. PROTECT YOURSELF ON EXCAVATION SITES
• Enter or exit a trench or excavation only using a ladder, stairway or properly
designed ramp that is placed in the protected area of the trench
• Do not work outside the confines of the protection system!

E. TRAINING
• Make sure you have the proper training on the equipment and hazards of your
job so that you can do your work safely.

TOPIC 4: WHAT IS MY EMPLOYER REQUIRED TO DO TO
PROTECT WORKERS FROM CAUGHT-IN OR –BETWEEN
HAZARDS?
A. Provide guards on power tools and other equipment with moving parts
B. Support, secure or otherwise make safe equipment having parts that workers could be
caught between
C. Take measures to prevent workers from being crushed by heavy equipment that tips
over
D. Take measures to prevent workers from being pinned between equipment and a solid
object
E. Provide protection for workers during trenching and excavation work
F. Provide means to avoid the collapse of structures scaffolds
G. Provide means to avoid works’ being crushed by collapsing walls during demolition or
other construction activities
H. Designate a competent person
I. Provide training for workers

PROTECT WORKERS FROM CAUGHT-IN OR – BETWEEN
HAZARDS?
A. PROVIDE GUARDS ON POWER TOOLS AND OTHER EQUIPMENT WITH MOVING PARTS
• OSHA standards require your employer to ensure that hand-held power tools are
fitted with guards and safety switches.
• The type of guard will be determined by the power source (electric, pneumatic, liquid
fuel, hydraulic, or powder actuated).
• Exposed moving parts of power tools, such as belts, gears, shafts, pulleys, etc. must be
guarded.
• Points-of-operation – where the work is actually performed on materials – must also
be guarded
• Power saws are a primary type of equipment that requires a point-of-operation guard.
• In-running nip points, such as where the sanding belt runs onto a pulley in a belt
sanding machine, must also be guarded

HAZARDS?
B. SUPPORT, SECURE OR OTHERWISE MAKE SAFE EQUIPMENT HAVING
PARTS THAT WORKERS COULD BE CAUGHT BETWEEN
• Your employer should provide a lock-out/tag-out program or equivalent system
to ensure that equipment is not accidentally energized during maintenance or
repair. Lockout/tagout procedures are specifically required for concrete and
masonry operations
• Bulldozer and scraper blades, end-loader buckets, dump bodies, and similar
equipment must be blocked or fully lowered when being repaired or not in use

HAZARDS?
C. TAKE MEASURES TO PREVENT WORKERS BEING CRUSHED BY HEAVY
EQUIPMENT THAT TIPS OVER
• The best way to prevent workers from being crushed by heavy equipment that tips over is to
prevent the equipment from tipping over in the first place.
• For example, cranes can tip over if load capacity is exceeded, or the ground is not level or too soft.
OSHA requires that your employer designate a competent person to identify working conditions that
are hazardous to workers, including ensuring that the support surface is firm and able to support the
load
• Your employer must make sure that material handling equipment is equipped with rollover
protective structures
• OSHA standards require that motor vehicle, forklifts, and earth moving equipment must be
equipped with seatbelts. Your employer must require their use. The use of seatbelts will prevent
workers being thrown from a vehicle or equipment and subsequently being crushed when the
vehicle or equipment tips over.

HAZARDS?
D. TAKE MEASURES TO PREVENT WORKERS FROM BEING PINNED
BETWEEN EQUIPMENT AND SOLID OBJECT
• Employers are required to take measures to prevent workers from being pinned
between equipment and a solid object, such as a wall or another piece of
equipment; between materials being stacked or stored and a solid object,
between shoring and construction materials in a trench.
• Other example situations are:
• During demolition operations, when balling and clamming is being performed, only
the personnel absolutely necessary to the work must be allowed in the work area.
• Your employer must make sure that proper bracing is used between heavy plates used
in shoring in a trench

HAZARDS?
E. PROVIDE PROTECTION FOR WORKER DURING TRENCHING AND
EXCAVATION WORK
• OSHA standards on trenching and excavation require your employer to designate
a competent person to inspect the trenching operations
• The competent person must be trained in and knowledgeable about soils
classification, the use of protective systems, and the requirements of the OSHA
standard.
• The competent person must be capable of identifying hazards, and authorized to
immediately eliminate hazards
• The employer must make sure all excavations and trenches 5 feet deep or more,
but less than 20 feet, are protected by: sloping or benching, trench box or shield,
or shoring, and that there are adequate means of access and egress from the
excavation

HAZARDS?
EXCAVATION WORK
• If an excavation is more than 20 feet deep, a professional engineer must design the
system to protect the workers
• Workers must be protected from equipment or materials that could fall or roll into
excavations
• This could include spoils that could fall into the trench and bury the workers
• Mobile equipment used near or over and excavation presents a hazard. When mobile
equipment is operated adjacent to an excavation, or when such equipment is required
to approach the edge of an excavation, and the operator does not have a clear view of
the edge of the excavation, a warning system must be utilized such as barricades,
hand or mechanical signals or stop logs. If possible, the grade should be away from
the excavation.

HAZARDS?
EXCAVATION WORK
• If a crane or earthmoving equipment is operating directly over the top of a
trench, workers should not be working underneath.

HAZARDS?
F. PROVIDE MEANS TO AVOID THE COLLAPSE OF STRUCTURE SCAFFOLDS
• Measures need to be taken by your employer to avoid the collapse of other
structures, such as scaffolds, that could bury the workers underneath them.
• Anytime there is inadequate support, improper construction, or a shift in the
components of a scaffold (including the base upon which the structure is built),
there is danger of collapse.
• Cinder blocks or other similar materials should not be used to support a scaffold
because they could be crushed.
• OSHA standards require that scaffolds can only be erected, moved, dismantled or
altered under the supervision of a competent person

HAZARDS?
F. PROVIDE MEANS TO AVOID THE COLLAPSE OF STRUCTURE SCAFFOLDS
• The competent person selects and directs the workers who erect the scaffold
• These workers must be trained by a competent person on correct procedures and
hazards of scaffold erection

HAZARDS?
G. PROVIDE MEANS TO AVOID WORKERS’ BEING CRUSHED BY COLLAPSING
WALLS DURING DEMOLITION OR OTHER CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES
• During demolition, and stand alone wall that is more than one story must have
lateral bracing, unless the wall was designed to be stand-alone and is otherwise in
a safe condition to be self-supporting
• Jacks must have a firm foundation. If necessary, the base of the jack must be
blocked or cribbed. After a load has been raised, it must be cribbed, blocked, or
otherwise secured at once

HAZARDS?
H. DESIGNATE A COMPETENT PERSON
• OSHA defines a “competent person” as “one who is capable of identifying existing and
predictable hazards in the surroundings or working conditions which are unsanitary, hazardous,
or dangerous to employees, and who has authorization to take prompt corrective measures to
eliminate them.”
• Your employer must designate a competent person for certain construction activities that may
have caught-in or –between hazards:
• Training for scaffold erection
• Inspection of excavations, the adjacent areas, and protective systems
• Engineering survey prior to demolition of a structure (and any adjacent structure where workers may be
exposed) to determine the condition of the framing, floors, and walls, and possibility of unplanned
collapse
• Continuing inspections during demolition to detect hazards resulting from weakened or deteriorated
floors, or walls, or loosened material

HAZARDS?
I. PROVIDE TRAINING FOR WORKERS
• OSHA’s general training requirement for construction workers is:
• The employer shall instruct each employee in recognition and avoidance of unsafe
conditions and the regulations applicable to his work environment to control or
eliminate and hazards or other exposure to illness or injury.
• Your employer must train you to perform your job and use the provided
equipment safely
• Construction activities that may have caught-in or –between hazards and that
have specific training requirements in OSHA standards include
• Scaffolds – Workers who are involved in erecting, disassembling, moving, operating,
repairing, maintaining, or inspecting a scaffold

SUMMARY
• During this lesson, you have been given an overview of common caught-in or –
between hazards, ways to protect yourself, and what employers must do to
protect workers from caught-in or –between hazards

45
Source: Southwest Safety Training Alliance
Recognize Any Hazard(s)?

46
YES
No protective system
in this excavation.
Potential crushing
hazard from
overhead boulder.

47
Source: Compacion Foundation (HCAdetejas.org)

48
YES
Caught-in hazards
occur when a worker
could be caught inside
of or in between
different objects

49
Source: OSHA Region IV National Photo Archive

50
YES
Unguarded belt and pulley. Worker can
get hand and/or clothing caught in
running nip point

51
Source: Compacion Foundation (HCAdetejas.org)

52
YES
Gloves, long
sleeve shirts,
jewelry, or loose
fitting clothing can
be hazardous if
caught in moving
parts.

53
Source: OSHA Directorate of Construction

54
YES
Worker in an
unprotected vertical
wall trench [pipe work]
is exposed to being
totally engulfed by the
trench if it collapses.
Ladder at the end of
the trench
Next to a residential
structure
No protective systems
in use

55
Source: Indian River Community (now State) College

56
YES
Truck box not blocked
Do not work
between the frame
and dump box of
a dump truck

57

58
YES
Employee could be
caught between track
of dozer and wall

59

60
YES
Do not work
under the truss
boom during
dismantling
Crane booms that are not
adequately supported when
the pins are removed during
dismantling

61
Source: Construction Safety Council

62
YES
A worker could be caught between the
wrecking ball and the dumpster
The wrecking ball is loosely attached
to arm; could come loose and strike
operator’s cab

63
Source: OSHA Region IV National Photo Archive

64
YES
Unstable footing on
scaffold by using
concrete block

REFERENCES
• OSHA Website
• BLS Website
• CDC/NIOSH Website
• The Construction Chart Book (CPWR, 2007)

Caught in or -between hazards 2019

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Editor's Notes