Date of incident: May 2020
Notice of incident number: 2020165370033
Employers: Materials or light equipment testing company; paving services or asphalt manufacturing company

Incident summary
Workers were performing paving work when a worker on foot was struck by a rubber‑tired roller and crushed between the roller and a fence and generator. The worker sustained fatal injuries.

Investigation conclusions

Cause

• Rubber‑tired roller failed to stop and struck worker in its path. A rubber‑tired roller did not reverse direction as the operator intended when it came to the end of the asphalt surface on which it was operating. The roller travelled off the asphalt and onto a concrete area, where it struck a worker. The worker sustained fatal injuries.

Contributing factors

• Operator unfamiliar with roller. The operator of the roller had experience operating a variety of paving equipment, including rubber‑tired rollers, but not the model of roller involved in the incident, so another worker gave him a brief orientation on it. The operator noted that the controls on the roller involved in the incident were slightly different than those on other rollers he had used. The operator’s lack of familiarity with the roller was likely a factor in not getting it to reverse. It was also very likely a factor in the foot brake or emergency-stop button not being used in the unexpected situation of the roller not reversing direction while the worker was in its path.
• Worker in path of roller. The worker, who was standing in the path of the roller, moved back from the roller rather than moving out of the roller’s path, and ended up trapped between the roller and a fence and generator. The worker was standing on a concrete area that the roller was not expected to travel onto. Had the roller stopped at the edge of the asphalt surface, the worker would not have been in any danger. The unexpected nature of the situation is the most reasonable explanation for the worker not moving out of the way of the roller despite having sufficient time and space to do so.

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