Safety Alert for Supervisors: 2/23/2026

Incident summary A man who expanded the scope of his job duties was fatally pinned between the frame of a dump truck and the truck’s collapsing bed. What happened A work crew was charged with removing gravel from the bed of a dump truck using a mini skid steer loader. The staffers had extracted five loads of gravel when one of them noticed hydraulic fluid on the ground near the truck. The worker wanted to find the leak and repair it, but his supervisor told him to ignore it because it was a mechanical problem that needed to be fixed by a trained mechanic. However, as soon as the supervisor left the area of the truck with another load of gravel in the skid steer loader, the staffer decided to take care of the leak. He raised the bed of the dump truck and positioned himself between the frame rail of the vehicle and the elevated bed. He began to tighten a leaking hydraulic hose fitting, but he erroneously loosened the fitting and, as a result, the hydraulic system lost all its pressure and the bed of the truck collapsed and pinned the staff member between the frame rail and the bed. When the supervisor found the victim a short time later, he dialed 9-1-1, but the worker was already dead from traumatic asphyxia and blunt force trauma. Findings The crew member shouldn’t have expanded the scope of his job duties by trying to repair the leaking hydraulic hose. He wasn’t trained to perform the task, and he was unaware of the significant dangers it posed. Plus, said officials, the supervisor should’ve been more adamant in insisting that the man not undertake a risky job he wasn’t qualified to handle. Man ignored boss’s warning to not handle dangerous job Worker pinned between dump truck frame and collapsing bed You make the call: Did man setting up anchor points need to use safety gear? “ Y ou had an employee standing on an elevated surface about 12 feet above the ground and he wasn’t wearing safety gear,” said Tammy, the compliance officer. “That’s an obvious violation of our regulations, so I’m citing you.” “There’s a reason the man wasn’t using safety gear,” said George, the supervisor. “He was looking for anchor points that the rest of his crew could use to attach their safety equipment. You can’t expect someone to use safety devices that haven’t yet been set up. And, as you know, there’s an exemption from the use of fall protection gear during the installation of anchor points.” Doesn’t apply “It’s true that there’s an exemption from using safety equipment while anchor points are being set up,” said Tammy. “However, in this case, the exemption doesn’t apply.” “Why not?” asked George. “The exemption can only be used when there’s no other work being done at the elevated location at the same time,” said Tammy. “Here, you had several men laboring within 10 feet of the staffer installing the anchor points. The job had already started, so the exemption isn’t applicable.” The right thing “This is very frustrating,” said George. “We were trying to do the right thing by installing anchor points, but you hammer us with a citation even though we were engaged in an activity specifically intended to keep our crew members safe. We would’ve been better off just ignoring the fall protection regulation to begin with. We’ll fight your unjustified citation.” Did the company win? 2 Safety News New study reinforces the value of using safety gear when toxic dust is visible. 2 Quick Ideas Why staffers should wear prescription eyeglasses during respirator fit tests. 3 Legal Developments Coincidence? Employee terminated right after he reported safety violation. 3 Horror Stories Garbage collector fatally pinned between truck and pole in alleyway. 4 Safety Meeting What workers can do to avoid developing hand- arm vibration syndrome. In this issue ■ Make your call, then go to page 3 for the court’s ruling. February 23, 2026 SafetyAlert FOR SUPERVISORS The No. 1 source of actionable information to help supervisors keep their people safe Including: Supervisor’s Safety Toolbox