Farmer Pinned By Skid-Steer
Loader While Cleaning Barn

In March, 1999, a 66-year-old Iowa farmer was killed while cleaning out his barn with a skid-steer loader. He was driving into the building, then backing up, using the edge of the bucket to scrape manure off the concrete floor. The small barn was set up for feeding / riding horses, and storing equipment. On the barn wall were two doors with light metal gates which opened to the inside. During manure removal they would have to be kept out of the way by keeping them latched or secured to the wall in the open position. Desiring to clean along this wall, the farmer stopped the loader near one door, then leaned out of the machine to latch the gate. The loader bucket was in the raised position when the farmer leaned out to his right side under the loader lift arm. While leaning, he apparently touched the lift arm control lever with his leg or hand causing the bucket to drop. The lift arm came down and pinned his body against the frame of the protective cage, causing suffocation. The man was freed from the machine by relatives at the farm, and was taken to the hospital, but died the following day from his injuries. This 25-year-old skid-steer loader had a functioning mechanical interlock connected to the operator’s seat. This interlock would not allow the loader bucket and lift arm hydraulics to operate unless the operator was sitting in the seat. However the interlock control was worn out from years of service and was not working properly. When the hydraulic control lever for the lift arms was slightly off center, and the operator left his seat, the interlock would not function. This allowed the hydraulic control to move forward and lower the lift arms even when the operator was not sitting in the seat. This interlock problem likely contributed to the injury.

1. Operators of skid-steer loaders should not leave the seat while the machine is running. Likewise, they should not allow any part of their body to be under the raised loader bucket or lift arms, unless the loader is securely supported.

• Interlocking mechanisms have been built into skid-steer loaders for over two decades to protect the operator from accidental movement of the loader in case the operator has to step out.
• Whenever the operator must reach or step out of the machine, the loader bucket should be lowered, and to be fully safe, the engine should be shut off.
• Leaning out of the machine may save some time, but safety is greatly compromised.

2. Manufacturers should provide several reliable mechanisms to prevent injuries from the loader falling unintentionally, and owners should maintain these mechanisms in good working condition.

• Newer machines have multiple mechanisms to protect operators from the danger of being crushed.
• These methods include locking the loader hydraulics, safety belt-operated interlocks, ignition-operated interlocks, operator presence sensors in the seat, front door interlocks, and safety bars requiring the operator to be present in the seat.
• Some interlocks may also shut off the engine when activated. Some may require the engine be running before the hydraulics will operate.
• Mechanical lift arm stops, may also be provided to lock the bucket in the raised position for maintenance.
• This machine was 25 years old and had only the operator presence sensor type interlock.

3. Operators of skid-steer loaders should plan ahead to minimize unnecessary trips on and off their equipment.

• Obstacles in the work area should be removed before operating heavy equipment.
• This is often more efficient than removing them later or trying to work around them.
• This fatality could have been avoided with one trip to check the area, then closing the metal gate.