Funny Safety Video Has Serious Side

This video is good for some laughs at the expense of a concrete crew that had a hard time figuring out how to corral a runaway power trowel. But it wouldn’t have been so funny if a worker had been hurt. Here’s how to prevent a similar incident.

How many construction workers does it take to stop a runaway power trowel? Click on the accompanying video to find out, and get a good laugh. Two workers in a nearby building who saw the situation unfolding took the video and provide a running commentary.

The video is funny, noting that no one was hurt when the trowel went spinning out of control, with worker after worker showing up in increasingly comical attempts to get control of the device. But there easily could have been an injury or two.

The questions this video raises are how can this be prevented from happening, and are there more effective ways to stop a machine if it does go out of control.

Steve Phillips, CSP, director of safety and health for the Construction Division of Hensel Phelps Construction points out that concrete troweling machines are required by Construction Safety Orders §1698(d) to be equipped with kill switches. The safety order states that such machines that are guided manually “shall be equipped with a control or switch that will automatically shut off the power whenever the operator’s hands are removed from the equipment handles.”

Phillips says the way to prevent power equipment like this from going out of control is to make sure the safety features are operational. “Inspect the equipment in accordance with manufacturer’s instructions, including inspecting the centrifugal type kill-switch, manual clutch, or micro-switch, depending on what type of trowel you have, for proper operation,” he tells Cal-OSHA Reporter.  “This is designed to stop the engine and bring the trowel to a halt in the event of a runaway condition” when the operator releases the handle.

Operator training also is important to prevent incidents such as the video depicts.

The answers aren’t as easy to come by as far as how to stop a trowel that is in runaway mode. If any of our readers has experience with such equipment and situations, please contact Cal-OSHA Reporter at feedback@cal-osha.com and we’ll the responses.