The 3rd annual National Stand-Down to Prevent Struck-by Incidents will take place April 11–15, 2022. As part of these efforts, NIOSH and others are highlighting the lethal struck-by risk related to excavator quick couplers. A quick coupler failure can cause the attachment to fall suddenly, causing death, injury, and/or damage to the excavator and attachment. Background Hydraulic excavators (Figure 1 and 2) are used in construction to move large quantities of earth. Many excavators have tracks for movement and are commonly called “trackhoes” or “backhoes.” An excavator quick coupling device (quick coupler) can save a lot of time on the
…
