Concrete pumper overturned because it had been improperly set up
Manotick Concrete in Ontario has been fined $70,000 for an incident where a worker suffered critical injuries during the construction of a single family home. The court also imposed a 25 per cent victim fine surcharge as required by the Provincial Offences Act.
On Aug. 10, 2016, the worker was operating the hose of a concrete pumper truck pouring concrete into the wall forms while standing on an upper level of scaffolding. The pumper truck was set up with all four outriggers fully extended and with steel plates under the base of the outriggers. The ground under the pump truck was partially covered in dark brown mulch and consisted of previously excavated soil.
While pouring the concrete required for foundation, one of the pumper truck's outrigger hydraulic legs sunk about 3 feet into the ground, tipping the truck and moving the boom arm of the truck suddenly into a wall, injuring the worker who was operating the hose. The worker suffered critical injuries.
The Ministry of Labour inspector and engineer called to the scene determined that the primary factor that caused the pumper truck to overturn was that it had been improperly set up: specifically the support area under the outrigger was too small. The support area is the footprint of the solid material placed under the outrigger to distribute the load over a greater surface area to avoid the outrigger sinking into the ground. The pumper truck was not set up according to the specifications in its operator's manual.
As such, the defendant, Manotick Concrete, failed to ensure that the outrigger of a concrete pumper truck was sufficiently supported as required by its operating manual. This was contrary to the Occupational Health and Safety Act and a violation of section 93(3) of the Construction Projects Regulation (Ontario Regulation 213/91): "All vehicles, machines, tools and equipment shall be used in accordance with any operating manuals issued by the manufacturers."
Source: Ontario Ministry of Labour
