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Toolbox Talks

Machine demolition: stay out of the reach

Machine demolition: stay out of the reach

Struck-by 5 min 29 CFR 1926.859

Demolition, Excavation

Why it matters

When an excavator with a shear, hammer, or grapple is pulling a building down, anything inside its reach can get hit, crushed, or buried. Walls fall in ways nobody expects, and debris kicks out farther than it looks.

The talk

Machine demo looks slow and controlled from the cab. On the ground it is not. A wall pulled one way can break in the middle and fall the other way. A beam that is still tied to the next bay can swing out. Chunks of block and brick bounce and roll. The operator is watching the attachment and the wall, not you. The people who get hurt are often the laborer sorting metal close to the pile, the worker hosing down dust, or someone walking in to grab a tool.

The standard is clear about wrecking ball and clamshell work. Nobody is allowed in any area that can be affected while that is going on. At other times, only the workers needed for the job can be in the area, and we treat excavator demo the same way. Before pulling walls over, steel tied into them has to be cut free, and cornices and other decorative stonework have to come off first. A competent person keeps inspecting as the work goes, looking for weak floors, weak walls, and loose material. Nobody works where those hazards exist until they are fixed with shoring, bracing, or another method that works.

Set the zone before the machine starts. Mark it with cones, tape, or fence, and make it bigger than the reach of the boom, with extra room in case a wall falls outward. The water hose worker and the spotter stand where the operator can see them, outside the fall path. Agree on a stop signal and a way to get the operator's attention. Never walk into the zone until the operator stops, sets the attachment on the ground, and gives you the okay. Watch the walls next to the work too, since they lose support as the building comes apart. If something looks like it is leaning or cracking, call it out.

Key points

  1. Anything inside the machine's reach can get hit or buried.
  2. Walls can break and fall the wrong way.
  3. No one is in the affected area during wrecking ball or clamshell work.
  4. At other times, only workers needed for the job are in the area.
  5. Cut steel free and remove cornices before pulling walls over.
  6. A competent person keeps inspecting as the work goes.
  7. Enter the zone only after the operator stops and gives the okay.

Do this

  • Mark the zone before the machine starts.
  • Stand where the operator can see you, outside the fall path.
  • Agree on a stop signal with the operator.
  • Wait for the attachment to be on the ground before you walk in.
  • Call out any wall that leans or cracks.

Do not do this

  • Do not sort scrap near the pile while the machine is working.
  • Do not walk in behind the machine to grab a tool.
  • Do not pull a wall with steel still tied into it.
  • Do not assume the operator sees you.
  • Do not work under or next to a wall that has lost its support.

Talk about it

  1. How big is our zone today, and who keeps people out of it?
  2. What is our signal to stop the machine?

This is a short crew briefing. It does not replace a competent person, training, or the law.

Training aid only. This talk is not legal advice. It does not replace your company's safety program, a competent person, the equipment maker's instructions, or the OSHA standard itself.

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