The Caterpillar Excavator in a precarious position!!!

This is a project where approximately 4m long wooden poles are being planted into the ground, along the side of the pond in a park, presumably to prevent soil erosions. But, the way the work is being carried out left much to be desired as far as safety of the workers is concerned.

The Caterpillar Excavator is positioned on a slope that is about 40-degree inclined. This is a very precarious position especially when force is being applied from the top to drive the pole into the ground and I observed that at some depths, there was a rebounce when the ground underneath was too hard and sometimes, it missed hitting the pole. When unexpected circumstances such as these happen, we might need to just hold our breath and cross our fingers hoping that the excavator would not topple into the pond and the workers drowned.

Notice that the co-worker is always in a very hazardous position, right in front of the excavator, trying to position the pole for accurate hitting. He will be crushed if the excavator were to accidentally slide down the slope. In fact, an accident involving a similar excavator happened recently in the same neighbourhood and the driver fell into the canal and was killed.

I feel that the contractor should place the workers' safety first and should explore other methods where the workers' safety is not compromised.