Surf through job listings for “operating engineers” in Illinois or Indiana, and you will find all sorts of job descriptions, from “snow equipment operator- skid steer/loaders,” to “traveling equipment operator,” “heavy equipment operator,” or “catalyst equipment operator,” among others.
It’s a job title that covers a lot of responsibilities. And it is work that brings a great danger of catastrophic injury or even death to those employed as operating engineers, no matter the specific job or work they perform.
Who are Operating Engineers?
Operating engineers are skilled workers with training and education that enables them to control, move, position, operate, and maintain all the various types of heavy machinery and heavy equipment needed to do things like move earth; lift materials; set pavement; and other industrial work. They may be employed and on the job on construction sites (road construction; building construction; etc.), as well as in mining operations; industrial plants and factories; refineries; power stations; ports; or railyards.
Officially, the federal government occupational profile (47-2073.00) lists thirteen (13) key tasks for operating engineers, from things like “locate underground services, such as pipes or wires, prior to beginning work,” to “signal operators to guide movement of tractor-drawn machines.” Notably, the first thing on the government’s key task list: “learn and follow safety regulations.” Because this work is dangerous.
Membership is offered to these specialists in the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE), which explains:
In most cases, if it can push, pull, pump or lift material, rolls on tires or crawls on tracks like a tank, it’s the work of IUOE. On virtually all construction projects, operating engineers are the first workers on the job and the last to leave. Our work is essential to a smooth-running construction project.
Although many members have a favorite type of machine to operate, operating engineers are masters of a variety of equipment. This versatility keeps us employable because employers’ needs vary from project to project.
Common Work Accident Dangers Facing Operating Engineers
No matter the job site, operating engineers in our part of the country need to be alert to risks and hazards every moment they are on the job. This is because they can be seriously hurt in all sorts of work accidents in an instant, including the following:
1. Struck-by or Caught-in-Between Accidents: Struck by injuries happen when the worker is hit by an object on the job, sometimes at great speed, while caught-in-between injuries are the result of the worker being trapped between two things with the danger of being fatally crushed between them.
Both are common dangers for operating engineers as they do things like operate heavy equipment or machinery on busy construction sites or mining areas and face the risk of things like a trench that collapses or a swinging load. Things like spotters and establishing safety zones are vital to keep these workers safe from these types of work accidents. For more, read: Beware One of the Deadliest Dangers on Construction Sites: Struck-By Accidents; and Caught In-Between Hazards: One of OSHA’s “Fatal Four” Deadly Construction Accidents.
2. Rollovers or Tipovers: The heavy machinery and equipment entrusted to the operating engineer is not known for its sleek and swift maneuverability like an Indianapolis 500 racing car. These workers face hazards that include the rolling over or tipping over of their crane, etc., with terrifying results, from such simple problems as uneven ground on the worksite that has not been fixed, or substandard loading (uneven, overweight, etc.) before work begins.
3. Falls: The risk of a severe or deadly fall, especially from height, is a daily risk for the operating engineer, where they routinely do things like climbing up into cabs or moving onto elevated platforms to operate the machinery or equipment. Workers should always be protected with things like fall arrest systems. Read: Fall Accidents on the Job: Industrial Workplaces and Great Danger of Fall Injuries.
4. Electrocution: On many worksites, operating engineers will need to perform their tasks alongside power lines or live wires which pose an obvious threat of death by electrocution or electrical burn injuries; for instance, crane or excavator work may involve overhead or buried power lines which should be located and safeguarded before work commences to keep the worker safe. See: Electrical Injuries and Electrocution Accidents on the Construction Site.
5. Equipment or Machine Vibration and Repetition: internal organ damage including permanent nervous system damage and resulting loss or use of a limb; permanent incapacitating pain, and more can result for the worker being exposed to body vibrations or repeating movements or controls on the machinery or equipment if proper safety protections are not provided.
6. Exposure to Toxins: These workers may be asked to work near areas that come with hazardous materials or toxins which can harm or kill human beings, including not only silica or asbestos but diesel exhaust fumes. Multiple safety measures are needed here, especially providing the proper Personal Protective Equipment for the operating engineer. For more, read: Silica Injuries in Indiana and Illinois: Rising Danger from Deadly Work Exposure to Industrial Sand.
Bodily Injuries Suffered by Operating Engineers in Work Accident
When a work accident involves an operating engineer, the risk is high for that worker to die from their injuries either immediately or later, when their body is not able to recover from the harm suffered in their on-the-job injuries. The risks are varied here, including:
- Burns (electrical, hot metal, fire, etc.)
- Chronic pain disability
- Fractures (broken bones)
- Internal organ damage (crushing injuries to kidneys, liver, heart, lungs, etc. with long-term or permanent loss of full use)
- Spinal cord injury (including paralysis or loss of use of one or more limbs)
- Traumatic brain injury (from recoverable severe concussion to permanent brain damage).
- Death (at time of injury or in weeks or months following the accident).
Read: Internal Injuries After an Accident Can Be Silent and Deadly; Work-Related Traumatic Brain Injury (WR-TBI) Dangers Facing Industrial Workers in Illinois and Indiana; and Amputations in Factory Work: Severe or Deadly Manufacturing Accidents.
Claims for Work Accident Injuries Suffered by Operating Engineers in Indiana or Illinois
For those hurt on the job while employed as an operating engineer, it is important to know that the accident victim as well as their loved ones may not only have rights to file for worker’s compensation benefits but that they may have civil personal injury claims against third parties for a breach of legal duties that resulted or contributed to the event.
Worker’s compensation benefits are provided pursuant to an insurance policy purchased by the employer to cover worker accidents. These claims are filed in accordance with longstanding state procedures and there is no need for the worker to prove up fault.
Civil injury claims are independent of the worker’s compensation process. The worker victim, after an expert investigation and analysis of the accident, may find that there are companies or individuals other than the employer who have legal responsibility for what happened because of their failures to meet duties of safety and care defined by law.
For more, read:
- Work Accident in Illinois or Indiana: Workers Compensation Claim vs. Personal Injury Damages
- The Two Main Differences Between Workers Compensation and Personal Injury Claims for Accident Victims in Indiana and Illinois
- Work Accident Injury Claims in Illinois and Indiana: Things to Know About Monetary Damages.
Operating engineers are busy every day here in Illinois or Indiana, on the job doing things like operating cranes, bulldozers, pavers, dredges, excavators, etc. and accordingly, at risk of severe bodily harm or even death from a very dangerous job. Please be careful out there!
