Struck-By & Caught-In/Between Hazards

Welcome

Hello, and welcome. This is Super Structures General Contractors — a national general contractor headquartered in Powhatan, Virginia — here to help you and your clients build something that lasts. We're glad you're with us, and we look forward to connecting with you.

Let's talk Struck-By & Caught-In/Between Hazards, because getting this right makes everything after it easier. Here's the heart of it: Stay visible, never stand under loads, keep machine guards on, and avoid pinch points between equipment and fixed objects. Get comfortable here and the rest of this trade gets a whole lot less intimidating.

Most of what can hit you or trap you, you can see coming — if you train your eyes for it.

Two of the Focus Four happen fast and often around equipment and materials.

Struck-by

• Vehicles & equipment — wear hi-vis, make eye contact with operators, stay out of blind spots and backing paths.
• Falling objects — use toe boards, debris nets, and never stand under suspended loads; secure tools at height.
• Flying objects — eye protection when cutting, grinding, or using powder-actuated tools.

Caught-in / between

• Trench cave-ins (covered next) — a leading caught-in killer.
• Machinery — keep guards on; never reach into moving equipment; use LOTO during service.
• Pinch points — stay clear of equipment and a fixed object (walls, other equipment).

Going Deeper (Intermediate)

Struck-by and caught-in/between are two of the Focus Four. Struck-by = hit by a moving/flying/falling object (vehicles, loads, tools, nail-gun discharge). Caught-in/between = crushed, pinched, or buried (trench collapse, unguarded machinery, between equipment and a fixed object).

Controls that actually move the needle:

• High-visibility apparel (ANSI/ISEA 107) and internal traffic control plans to separate workers from equipment.
• Spotters + back-up alarms for vehicles; never position yourself in a blind spot or pinch point.
• Secure loads and tools at height; barricade swing radii of cranes/excavators.

Advanced / Pro-Level

The deadly specifics:

• Equipment swing/crush zones: a worker pinned between a swinging counterweight and a wall is a classic caught-between fatality — barricade the full swing radius.
• Rigging & loads: never stand under a suspended load; use tag lines; know sling angle effects (a 30° sling angle nearly doubles the tension in each leg).
• Nail guns: use full-sequential trigger (not bump/contact trip) for the biggest injury reduction; most ER visits are from contact-trip double-fires.
• Unguarded rotating equipment (augers, rebar, PTO shafts) — machine guarding and LOTO prevent the caught-in amputation.

Practice Challenge

An excavator is trenching beside a building wall. Where is the caught-between fatal zone, and what's the control? (Answer: between the machine's rotating counterweight/cab and the wall — barricade the entire swing radius so no one can enter that pinch zone while it operates.)

In Practice

A worker stands behind a backing dump truck, right in the driver's blind spot. A spotter, a hi-vis vest — or simply not being there — prevents a struck-by tragedy.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Standing in equipment blind spots or backing paths
• Standing under suspended loads
• Removing or bypassing machine guards

From the Field

A personal word from a builder who's been there:

Get in the habit of looking up, looking around, and never putting yourself between a machine and something solid. Before you step near equipment, make eye contact with the operator — if you can't see their eyes, they can't see you. That one habit will save your life.

Takeaway: Stay visible, never stand under loads, keep machine guards on, and avoid pinch points between equipment and fixed objects.

⚠️ Educational overview — this is not official OSHA certification. Get OSHA 10/30 training from an OSHA-authorized trainer, and always follow your employer's safety program and current OSHA standards (29 CFR 1926 for construction).