The jury has made six recommendations at the coroner’s inquest into the death of a Windsor construction worker.
Takis Escoto, 34, was hit and killed by a front-end loader while working in June of 2011.
Escoto’s father Ramiro, says he is pleased with the recommendations.
“I have only a picture, memories and grief,” says Ramiro Escoto. “Hopefully everybody will learn and apply all safety measures to save workers life. I would like to know what I can do. I would like to see the recommendations made to be effective and not just a recommendation.”
There were some minor changes to what was presented to the jury on Wednesday, after three days of testimony.
The recommendations to the Ministry of Labour are:
- All heavy equipment operators require a certificate of formal training and periods of refresher courses.
- A signal person shall be required for any situation when any heavy equipment is operating in reverse for an extended distance longer than the length of the machinery being used.
- When working in a job site accessible to the public, a signal person should be present at all times.
- Reverse speed should be mechanically governed on all heavy equipment machinery.
- All heavy equipment machinery is required to have audio communication between the operator and the signal person available at all times when needed. Eg: headset
- Recommend the usage of technology pertaining to backup detection systems on larger scale equipment including ultrasonic, radar, camera and radio frequency identification technology.
