U. S. Department of Labor

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Directorate of Science, Technology & Medicine

Office of Science and Technology Assessment

SHIB 04-16-2008

Hazards of Auger Drilling

Safety and Health Information Bulletin

This Safety and Health Information Bulletin (SHIB) is

not a standard or regulation, and it creates no new legal

obligations. The Bulletin is advisory in nature,

informational in content, and is intended to assist

employers in providing a safe and healthful workplace.

The Occupational Safety and Health Act requires

employers to comply with safety and health standards

promulgated by OSHA or by a state with an OSHAapproved state plan. In addition, pursuant to Section

5(a)(1), the General Duty Clause of the Act, employers

must provide their employees with a workplace free

from recognized hazards likely to cause death or

serious physical harm. Employers can be cited for

violating the General Duty Clause if there is a

recognized hazard and they do not take reasonable

steps to prevent or abate the hazard. However, failure

to implement any recommendations in this SHIB is not,

in itself, a violation of the General Duty Clause.

Citations can only be based on standards, regulations,

and the General Duty Clause.

Preface

Powered augers are used predominantly in the

agriculture, landscaping, construction and utility

industries. They are commonly used to drill holes for

pilings, utility poles, light poles and fence posts. The

auger may be mounted on a variety of equipment or

vehicles that may be ridden on or walked behind.

The drilling operation that prompted this Safety and

Health Information Bulletin (SHIB) involved the use of

a truck-mounted auger to install the final post of a

security fence on a landscaped area covered by

landscape fabric and a layer of mulch. The operator

standing on the mulch was pulled into the rotating

auger by the hidden fabric. His legs were amputated

as they were pulled into the auger and he died as a

result of the severe injuries.

This SHIB addresses some potential hazards

employees may be exposed to when an auger strikes

materials beneath or above the surface. In addition to

contact with hidden landscape fabric, contact with

underground utility installations such as gas, fuel, or

electric lines (29 CFR 1926.651(b)(1)) or overhead

power lines such as electrical distribution and

transmission lines (29 CFR 1926.550(a)(15)) also

could result in a fatal accident.

Purpose

The purpose of this SHIB is to:

• Alert and inform employers, employees, and

manufacturers about some of the potential

hazards associated with auger drilling,

including hazards posed by hidden or exposed

fabrics, overhead or underground utilities,

modified equipment, and disabled safety

controls,

• Explain the importance of inspecting the area

for hidden or exposed fabric, and

underground or overhead utilities (29

CFR1926.651(b)(1), 29 CFR1926.550

(a)(15)),

• Remind employers that frequent and regular

inspections of the job site, materials, and

equipment must be performed by competent

persons designated by the employer (29 CFR

1926.20(b)(2)),

• Remind employers of the training requirements

to instruct employees in the recognition and

avoidance of unsafe work conditions (29 CFR

1926.21(b)(2)) and to permit only employees

qualified by training or experience to operate

equipment and machinery (29 CFR1926.20

(b)(4)), and
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1 Grab tensile strengths are from specification sheets for Dupont SF 65 Style geotextile and Dupont Seed Bed Covers.

ASTM D4632-91-1966 Standard Test Method for Grab Breaking Load and Elongation of Geotextiles. (http://

www.greenvista.dupont.com/pdf/DuPont_Seed_Bed_Cover.pdf, http://www.typargeo.com/pdf/

kintex_dupont_sf_styles.pdf).

• Remind employers of the importance of

reviewing relevant precautions and following

the manufacturer’s operating manual.

Background

OSHA’s Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania Area Office

investigated a fatality at the site of a newly-constructed

administration building. A subcontractor had been

hired to install a security fence. On the day of the

incident, one post hole was left to be dug. All of the

previous post holes had been dug on disturbed

construction soil, but the last hole was in a landscaped

area covered with mulch. The investigation revealed

that the operator did not inspect the area where this

last hole was to be dug before drilling and, therefore,

was not aware of the landscape fabric beneath the

mulch. Consequently, the landscape fabric was not cut

to accommodate the16-inch auger before drilling.

Additionally, although the 1961 truck-mounted auger

was originally equipped with a platform, it had been

removed years before this incident, forcing the

operator to stand on the mulch while operating the

auger. The accompanying operator’s instruction

manual did not mention the existence of the platform as

a standard piece of equipment for the auger, nor did it

refer to it as a safety feature. Newer truck-mounted

augers are equipped with a seated operator’s control

work station mounted on the vehicle. This is a

standard configuration for products of this type.

Additionally, the accompanying manufacturer’s

operating manual reflects safe practices for operating

the auger from the operator’s control station. Although the operator’s station removes the operator

from the ground, its use does not eliminate the hazard

to nearby helpers working on the ground.

In this accident, as the rotating auger penetrated the

mulch, it entangled the landscape fabric under the

mulch and drew it into itself. The operator lost his

footing and was drawn into the point of operation

where the auger entered the soil. The operator

sustained severe injuries including the amputation of

both legs and he later died as a result of these injuries.

Hazard Information

Synthetic fabrics are used in outdoor settings for

different purposes, such as landscape fabric for weed

control, erosion control, or civil engineering

applications. The strength of these fabrics varies

depending on their uses and the duration of exposure

to ultraviolet light. Polypropylene ground cover is

most commonly used for landscaping. It can weigh as

much as 27 ounces per square yard with a grab tensile

strength as high as 105 pounds per square inch.1

If an auger contacts fabric as it is drilling, the material

may be rapidly drawn into the point of operation,

possibly causing any person standing on the fabric to

be drawn in at the same time. As in this incident,

entanglements can happen so quickly that there is no

time for the operator to react.

The accident that prompted this bulletin was the first

known recorded fatality that has occurred as a result

of an auger penetrating landscape fabric hidden

beneath ground cover. However, there have been a

number of other fatal accidents involving augers.

According to OSHA’s Integrated Management

Information System (IMIS), since 1987 at least

thirteen fatalities have resulted from entanglement or

crushing hazards involving augers. The IMIS data

also indicate that a number of fatal accidents have

occurred from contact with underground and

overhead electrical equipment and utility lines.

OSHA’s Construction Standard Requirements

Training:

• 29 CFR 1926.21(b)(2) requires employers to

instruct each employee in the recognition,

avoidance and prevention of unsafe

conditions.
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2 29 CFR1926.32(f) Definitions.

Competent person means one who is capable of identifying existing and predictable hazards in the surroundings or working

conditions which are unsanitary, hazardous, or dangerous to employees and who has authorization to take prompt

corrective measures to eliminate them.

o Employers should train operators,

helpers and other employees to

recognize the hazards that may be

encountered in the drilling process; for

example, hazards posed by hidden or

exposed fabric, overhead or underground utilities, modified equipment,

or disabled safety controls.

Inspections:

 • 29 CFR 1926.20(b)(2) requires frequent and

regular inspections of the job site, materials

and equipment to be made by competent

persons 2 designated by the employer. For

example, a competent person should inspect

to determine if the operator’s platform has

been removed, the condition of the ground

(including the existence of any hidden fabric),

and for the presence of overhead or

underground utilities.

Located overhead power lines:

• 29 CFR 1926.600(a)(6) requires compliance

with 29 CFR1926.550 (a)(15). Except

where electrical distribution and transmission

lines have been de-energized and visibly

grounded at the point of work or where

insulating barriers, not a part of or an

attachment to the equipment or machines,

have been erected to prevent physical contact

with the lines, equipment or machines shall be

operated proximate to power lines only in

accordance with the following:

(i) For lines rated 50 kV. or below,

minimum clearance between the lines

and any part of the crane or load shall

be 10 feet;

For lines rated over 50 kV., minimum

clearance between the lines and any

part of the crane or load shall be 10

feet plus 0.4 inch for each 1 kV., over

50 kV., or twice the length of the line

insulator, but never less than 10 feet;

In transit with no load and boom

lowered, the equipment clearance

shall be a minimum of 4 feet for

voltages less than 50 kV., and 10 feet

for voltages over 50 kV., up to and

including 345kV., and 16 feet for

voltages up to and including 750 kV.

Determine underground installations:

• 29 CFR1926.651(b)(1) requires that “the

estimated location of utility installations, such

as sewer, telephone, fuel, electric, water lines

or any other underground installations that

reasonably may be expected to be

encountered during excavation work, shall be

determined prior to opening an excavation.”

Contact utility companies or owners:

• 29 CFR1926.651(b)(2) requires that utility

companies or owners shall be contacted

within established or customary local response

times, advised of the proposed work, and

asked to establish the location of the utility

underground installations prior to the start of

actual excavation. When utility companies or

owners cannot respond to a request to locate

underground utility installations within 24 hours

(unless a longer period is required by state or

local law), or cannot establish the exact

locationof these installations, the employer

may proceed, provided that the employer

does so with caution, and provided that

detection equipment or other acceptable

means to locate utility installations are used.

Personal protective equipment:

• 29 CFR 1926.28 states that “the employer is

responsible for requiring the wearing of

appropriate personal protective equipment...”

and 29 CFR 1926.95(a) further requires that

protective equipment include protective

clothing where necessary.

(ii)

(iii)
Figure #1.

This is not the truck-mounted auger that was used in this operation, but it is an example

of this type of equipment. Notice the operator platform at the rear.

Recommended Safety Measures

• Follow the instructions in the manufacturer’s

operating and preventive maintenance manual.

• Conduct daily pre-task meetings to ensure

that all employees are aware of the correct

procedures to prevent an unwanted incident

and any hazards associated with the job task.

• Look for obstacles that may need to be

removed. Hand digging may verify the

 presence or absence of underground material,

including utilities.

• Prior to drilling, cut a hole in the landscape

fabric sufficiently larger than the diameter of

the auger to prevent contact or entanglement

with the fabric.

• Except for the operator, employees should not

be near the auger when it is operating.

• Employees using hand tools should not move

or remove spoil-pile while the auger is

operating.

• The operator should sit or stand at the

operator’s station while operating the auger.

• Do not modify the operator’s station or

disable safety controls beyond manufacturer’s

recommendations (for example: hold-to-run or

seat switch controls).

• Remain a safe distance (a minimum of 10 feet)

from the auger when helping the operator.

Conclusion

Landscaping fabric of sufficient strength can trap

employees’ limbs when entangled in a powered auger.

Hazards resulting from contact with underground or

overhead utilities and from modifying equipment or

disabling safety controls can also lead to severe

injuries or fatalities. Implementing the actions

described in this SHIB will reduce the potential for

additional fatalities or serious injuries relating to

operating powered augers.

Edwin G. Foulke, Jr.

Assistant Secretary

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

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