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Property Maintenance Worker Caught between Industrial Sweeper and Low Ceiling—Massachusetts										Related Pages
										Massachusetts Case Report: 18MA035
Release Date: August 13, 2021

SUMMARY
On July 2, 2018, a 57-year-old property maintenance worker was killed while operating a ride-on industrial sweeper. He was using the sweeper to clean a parking garage. While backing the sweeper in an area with a low ceiling, he became caught between the sweeper and the ceiling. The victim was eventually discovered unresponsive by a resident of the apartment building who placed a call for emergency medical services (EMS). The man had suffered blunt trauma to his head and neck and was pronounced dead at a local trauma center.
**CONTRIBUTING FACTORS**
Key contributing factors identified in this investigation include:
Accessible areas with low height clearance;
Absence of a protective cab on the sweeper; and
Lack of a comprehensive safety and health program.**RECOMMENDATIONS**
The Massachusetts FACE Program concluded that, to help prevent similar occurrences, employers should:
Ensure that ride-on equipment without a protective cab are not operated in the vicinity of overhead obstructions.
Ensure that a job hazard analysis is performed for each task assigned to employees.
Develop and implement a comprehensive safety and health program that addresses hazard recognition, avoidance of unsafe conditions, and proper use of equipment.In addition, equipment manufacturers should:
Adopt and implement the concept of Prevention through Design (PtD) to identify potential hazards associated with equipment and then eliminate these hazards through design changes.Property Maintenance Worker Caught between Industrial Sweeper and Low Ceiling—Massachusetts pdf icon[PDF – 533 KB]
							
					
						Page last reviewed:  March 25, 2022					Content source: 	National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health homeWorkplace Safety and Health Topics
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