Date of incident: May 2023
Notice of incident number: 2023181300014
Employers: Concrete pumping firm; concrete manufacturing firm; property owner (as prime contractor)

Incident summary
At a housing complex, a pump truck operator was receiving concrete from a mixer truck for pumping into sidewalk forms when the concrete delivery hose whipped and struck him. He sustained serious injuries.

Investigation conclusions

Cause

• Concrete blockage and air pocket caused hose to whip and strike worker. When the blockage occurred in the pump truck’s delivery system, it created a sudden release of air that caused the end of the delivery hose to whip, striking the operator.

Contributing factors

• Lack of site assessment by supervisor and delay in pumping process.
  • The employer was a concrete pumping firm. Its representative, the supervisor, did not attend the site prior to the work taking place to assess the site and determine the best area in which to set up the pump truck.
  • The contractor for the project had designated an area for the concrete mixer truck and pump truck to set up at the front of the housing complex, but that area had high-voltage power lines nearby. As a result, the operator set up the pump truck in a field behind the housing complex. The first mixer truck to arrive from the concrete manufacturing firm got stuck in the field, so the pump truck had to be moved closer to the mixer truck before pumping could start. Once the first load was delivered, the operator decided to move the pump truck again, this time to the designated location at the front of the complex.
  • The operator folded up the boom and the delivery system of the pump truck and contacted the supervisor to advise him of the decision. Using his cellphone, the operator sent the supervisor several photographs of the high-voltage lines in the area, for the supervisor to assess the location. The supervisor looked at the photographs of the proposed site and based on the overhead power lines visible in the photos, provided direction to the operator by phone on setting up the pump truck a safe distance from the lines.
  • The delay before the pump truck was moved to the front of the complex caused concrete to harden within the delivery system. However, the operator was not informed of the hazard of a potential concrete blockage in the truck’s delivery system.
• Inadequate safe work procedures.
  • Although the employer had safe work procedures, they were inadequate. They did not address issues with the delay in pumping or the hazard of standing in proximity to the delivery hose upon starting up the pump truck after a delay.
  • When the operator started up the pump truck again, he was standing in a hazardous area, close to the delivery hose.

Other health and safety issues

• Scene of incident disturbed. Immediately after the incident, the pump truck’s delivery system was cleaned out and the truck was driven away from the site. This was a violation of the Workers Compensation Act, which prohibits disturbing the scene of an incident except for certain reasons.

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Slide show about other concrete-pumping incident
View a slide show based on a WorkSafeBC incident investigation into a previous hose-whipping incident: Concrete pump hose whips, killing worker.