November 12, 1986

The Boston Regional Office brought to our attention a potential serious safety hazard existing with the use of backhoe attachments on Koehring skid steer loaders. A fatality occurred when an employee was crushed between the backrest of the seat for the backhoe attachment and the upper frame of the loader cab on one of these machines.

The backhoe attachment on the machine involved with the fatality consists of an operator's seat, operator's console, backhoe boom, and shovel (see attached copy from the manufacturer's publication). All of these are attached as one unit to the main boom of the front end loader when the bucket for the loader has been removed. The backhoe is operated from the seat located outside of the loader cab. Located inside of the cab at the loader operator seat position are hand controls which drive the loader, and foot controls which operate the main boom. These foot controls are safeguarded by a safety bar which renders them inoperable when it is in the "up" position. When the safety bar is lowered across the operator's lap, the latches on the foot pedals are released and the pedals become operable.

The Koehring Company conducted tests on skid steer loaders which suggest that under certain circumstances it is possible for an operator, by improper use of the pedals, to defeat the function of the safety bar. This may occur if the pedals are depressed immediately before the seat bar is raised. When this occurs, the pedals may continue to be operable until the operation initiated by the depressing of the pedals has been completed. In the case of the referenced fatality, it appears that the operator defeated the function of the seat bar by raising it and then used the pedals to raise the main boom while his body was extended out of the cab. The operator was crushed between the seat backrest and the cab frame.

Please disseminate this information to Area Offices, State Plan States, and Consultation Projects.

Attachment

The manufacturer has advised the users of these lamps that there is a risk of personal injury and property damage from hot quartz arc tube particles, shattered glass, and fire unless precautions are taken. As described in UL Standard 1572, there is a recognized need for enclosing metal halide lamps with a container of sufficient strength and flammability rating to provide a second barrier against the potential failure of the lamp. It is understood that this Standard is presently being revised to reflect more stringent test procedures for the enclosure than is currently recommended. The manufacturer has issued recommendations to reduce risk of injuries. The recommendations include using alternative replacement lamps and providing enclosures of suitable materials. The manufacturer also provides assistance upon request and can be reached at 617-777-1900.

We recommend that compliance and consultation personnel be aware of the hazard addressed in this bulletin. Please disseminate this information to Area Offices, State Plan States, and consultation Projects.