well la de DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUH!!!!

[dayexco]

when wiill people learn you don't work parallel with your excavation?

http://www.yourfilehost.com/media.php?cat=video&file=backhoe.wmv

 

[digger242j]

I guess that guy learned!

 

[Dickie]

Is physics no longer a high school subject? Ouch!

 

[Tigerotor77W]

Eh, I posted this reply in the other forum, too, but to get additional comments, here's that question:

When you say "Never work parallel to your excavation," what does that mean? (I'm not trying to corner anyone: I honestly don't know!) I can see that he's driving parallel to his excavation, but what is the correct procedure? [So that if I'm ever in this situation, I don't do the same thing...]

 

[dayexco]

I can see that he's driving parallel to his excavation, but what is the correct procedure? [So that if I'm ever in this situation, I don't do the same thing...]

i NEVER put myself working with my undercarriage, or tires or a machine parallel to an excavation. if you're perpendicular, you at least have a chance of backing away from your problem. this guy was doomed, he had zero chance of trying to get away from it.

 

[digger242j]

As I'm sure you can visualize, a longer excavation wall will have less stability than a shorter one. When you have a piece of equipment close to the top of that wall, you are exerting force at the top of it. That is likely to cause the wall to collapse under the weight of the machine.

In the video, it looks like the pavement was actually undermined, making the problem somewhat different, but the results were the same.

The machine's weight is spread over all four wheels, or in the case of a track machine, over both tracks. Since, generally speaking, machines will be longer than thay are wide, if you are perpendicular to the wall of the excavation, more of the weight will be further away from the wall. If you're parallel to the wall, as in the video, fully one half of the weight will be concentrated at the top of the wall.

This will have two results. First, a collapse will be more likely, due to the proportionally greater load bearing on the top of the wall. Second, when the collapse occurs, the machine will fall sideways, as the video illustrates. Had the operator approached that same spot perpendicular to that wall, the collapse might still have occured, but the machine would have gone in nose first. Standing on its nose, with the two rear wheels still on solid ground would be a much easier positon to deal with than laying on its side at the bottom of the hole.

Actually, if there is an option, approaching such a hole at a 45 degree angle is better still, because then you have one only quarter of the machine's weight in the area most prone to collapse.

This guy wasn't working parallel to the hole. He was walking the machine up to the fuel tank at the end of the day to fill it up. He was parellel to the hole though, and the side collapsed beneath the weight of the machine. Same sort of result though.

 

[MVFD]

Its also an even better Idea if you take the few seconds and inspect the sides of trenches, holes etc, and ground stability before getting near it weather running along side it, or running straight to it.

When I was doing a watermain for our city, I noticed that the truck drivers and alot of the other equipment operators did not care where they were, and where the trench was. Our trench was 15 ft down, 10 ft wide so you could loose so decent sized piece of equipment in there, yet know one seemed to stay away from the edges.. I was waiting for something to happen while I was there, but it never did thank god. I was glad to get off that job.

It happens so quick and usualy doesnt end well.

 

[rino1494]

Darwin > operator

 

[580bruce]

Tell me how you can hoepac 500 feet of waterline with a 416,and not be in line with the ditch??????

 

[tylermckee]

Sit at an angle to the ditch.

 

[CascadeScaper]

I didn't think about truck drivers at first, but that's a concern for trench collapse as well. We all know about their carelessness toward, well, just about everything including grade stakes and sack lunches. Just ask Jeff D., I'm sure he can verify :bouncegri

 

[Countryboy]

 

[580bruce]

Many times you have to be in line with the ditch.You just cant stick your bucket out in a live traffic lane.Most all situations are different,you just have to know how to read them.The poor guy on the 580,Could have been a long day,no room,new guy?Sometimes these things happen.

 

[dayexco]

580bruce
Tell me how you can hoepac 500 feet of waterline with a 416,and not be in line with the ditch??????

kind of like this
http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i182/dayexco/work pics/equipment003.jpg

backfilling/compacting shouldn't be any different than your digging operation other than you're going backwards things like that "happen", when people are doing something totally wrong. we never sit offside when when backfill with a hoepac or a packwheel unless we're perpindicular to our excavation

 

[Tigerotor77W]

Thanks for the replies. The 45 degree thing is interesting... I had assumed that backfilling in this manner was more a production thing than a safety concern.

I'll keep these in mind next time (which will be a gazillion years from now, but next time nevertheless) I operate.

 

[Blademan]

kind of like this
http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i182/dayexco/work pics/equipment003.jpg

backfilling/compacting shouldn't be any different than your digging operation other than you're going backwards things like that "happen", when people are doing something totally wrong. we never sit offside when when backfill with a hoepac or a packwheel unless we're perpindicular to our excavation

Actually , that photo you posted is not 500' of excavating being hoepakked .

Also , things like this happen when operators get complaciant , lazy or maybe they just had a rough day ?? If you look at the video you posted you'll notice the guy couldn't be perpendicular to the hole . He'd be sticking out in traffic .
Like mentioned above , no two situations are ever the same and not all situations afford the luxury to ALWAYS be perpendicular to your excavation . As a matter of fact , I've found with working in areas of high population densities , it takes a lot of creativity just to shoehorn equipment in and around places . Sometimes , you just have to take some chances and hope for the best . Most times it works ,and in this poor fellas case (pun ) , sometimes it doesn't .
Does anyone know if the operator got hurt in this ? Sure looks like he took a tumble .

 

[Wulf]

Sure looks like he took a tumble .

Weird how the hole was just big enough for it to drop in... almost as if he's dug his own grave. Serously though he was moving about after and hopefully wasn't seriously hurt... wonder if he's still running a backhoe loader?

 

[dayexco]

no, that wasn't 500' of waterline being hoepacked...that was about 1200' of 6" c-900 waterline being sheepsfooted at an ethanol plant site here. principle is the same, only thing different is the attachment at the end of the stick.

Also , things like this happen when operators get complaciant , lazy or maybe they just had a rough day ?? If you look at the video you posted you'll notice the guy couldn't be perpendicular to the hole . He'd be sticking out in traffic .

i don't find it any excuse to do what he did just because there is traffic. he maybe should have closed the street down to traffic, or had some flag people there directing traffic so he had adequate room to perform the task safely. or maybe do this in the evening hours when traffic was lighter. what happened here, is the guy didn't plan properly, not properly trained, and his hoe ended up in the hole. thank goodness, "i'm assuming" nobody was hurt, and other than damage to the backhoe, there was no damage done to the property. were i the owner of that machine, and after watching that video, the operator wouldn't be able to provide me with an excuse that i would accept.