Date of incident: January 2022
Notice of incident number: 2022182730003
Employer: Municipal government

Incident summary
A city garbage truck crew consisting of a swamper and a driver was picking up Christmas trees when trees became jammed in the truck’s hopper. The swamper climbed onto the truck’s hydraulic arm to clear the trees and was crushed when the arm retracted. The swamper sustained serious injuries.

Investigation conclusions

Cause

• Worker crushed between hydraulic lift and truck body. The truck’s hydraulic arm and lift had been extended away from the truck body so that the swamper could climb onto the arm to reach the trees. The hydraulic arm unexpectedly retracted, causing the swamper to be crushed in a pinch point between the hydraulic lift and the truck body. The swamper sustained serious injuries as a result.

Contributing factors

• Lack of adequate planning.
  • The employer conducts Christmas tree pickup operations annually; therefore, the work is anticipated, and the hazard of jams is a known issue. The employer relied on experienced workers to troubleshoot jams instead of providing them with the training and direction for a safe method of Christmas tree pickup.
  • The employer was aware that the side-loading garbage truck was not suitable for Christmas tree pickup and discontinued its use for that purpose immediately after the incident.
• No safe work procedures or training.
  • Christmas tree pickup is a planned operation that only occurs on one or two weekends per year. The employer did not have documentation identifying safe work procedures for picking up Christmas trees, using the side-loading garbage truck for Christmas tree pickup, or clearing jams. In addition, the employer did not provide crew talks specific to Christmas tree collection.
  • The employer was aware of the risks of using side-loading garbage trucks to pick up Christmas trees but failed to carry out hazard identification and provide workers with safe work procedures and training specific to using the trucks for Christmas tree pickup.
• Improper use of side-loading garbage truck. The employer was operating the side-loading garbage truck contrary to the manufacturer’s instructions — it had affixed a garbage tote to the truck’s hydraulic claw with a bungee cord. The hydraulic claw is designed to pick up and release totes. The employer did not have any written records of hazard identification or risk assessment regarding affixing a tote to the hydraulic claw.
• Lack of hazard identification and risk assessment. The employer did not identify the hazards and risks of operating the side-loading garbage truck regarding the following tasks:
  • Operating as a two-person truck
  • Clearing jams in the hoppers of the truck
  • Reporting or stopping unsafe behaviours
• Failure to lock out side-loading garbage truck. If the truck had been locked out, the joystick and hydraulics would not have been operational. The lockout procedure involved turning off the engine and removing the key.
• Safe work procedures for regular operations not followed. The fact that the crewmembers did not return to the transfer station when the trees jammed and that the swamper climbed on the hydraulic arm indicates that safe work procedures were not adhered to in the field.
• Inadvertent activation of joystick. The investigation determined that the most likely cause of the arm retraction that pinned the swamper in between the hydraulic lift and the truck body was the inadvertent activation of the joystick by the driver.

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