Accident: 790816 - Injured In Fall From Roof

On February 29, 1996, Employee #1, of David L. York Construction, was attempting to install an anchor for fall protection on a roof with an 18 ft ground to eave height and a pitch of 6:12. The roof was covered with snow and Employee #1 was digging out a trail through the snow to the anchor point. He slipped on a patch of ice before he could install the anchor fully and fell to the ground. He was hospitalized.

construction, anchor, work rules, fall, fall protection, slip, slippery surface

Accident: 14367775 - Several Employees Injured When Scaffold Collapses

At approximately 11:30 a.m. on February 7, 1996, Employees #1 through #5, bricklayers, and Employees #6 and #7, laborers, were veneering a concrete block wall with brick while standing on the platform of a 16 tower (8 pairs) Morgan scaffold approximately 24 ft from the ground. The scaffold towers were erected to a height of 27 ft in three 9 ft sections. Seven masonry wall anchors were placed in the veneer portion of the wall 16 ft above the ground at 15 ft horizontal intervals (every other tower). Because of a lack of stiff arm braces, only five of the seven anchors were used, leaving four towers at the north end unanchored. Three anchors on the north end were concrete block to brick wall ties using #6 wire and were not designed for this type of application. The typical notched flat stock anchors were not installed properly because regular non-cut nails were used. The employer also failed to anchor every tower at 9 ft vertical intervals as required for enclosed scaffolds. The working platform was enclosed with a plastic canopy open to the wall on the west end of the scaffold. As the platform was raised above the offset roof eave line, a 32 mph wind gust from the west-southwest tipped the north tower east. As the tower fell, it struck thirteen other towers that all collapsed. All five anchors in use were pulled from the wall. Employees #1 through #7 fell to the ground, sustaining fractures to the head, face, pelvis, ankle, knee, and arm, as well as lacerations and bruises. They were hospitalized.

work rules, scaffold, unsecured, fracture, bracing, tower, anchor, high wind, scaffold collapse, construction

Accident: 170066096 - Injured When Struck In Head By Hand-Powered Hoist

Employee #1 was working on a sub-contracted roofing repair job. He placed a hand-powered hoist on the roof, but did not anchor it or provide it with counterweights. He pulled the hoistline taut and the hand-powered hoist toppled approximately 30 ft, striking him in the head. Employee #1 was hospitalized.

head, hoist, work rules, anchor, struck by, unsecured, construction, counterbalance, falling object

Accident: 640813 - Killed In Fall From Collapsing Scaffold

Employee #1 was working from a 4 pt suspended scaffold. When the anchorage broke loose, the scaffold collapsed and he fell 35 ft to ground. Suffering a head injury, Employee #1 was killed.

scaffold collapse, equipment failure, fall, head, fall protection, work rules, concussion, anchor

Accident: 687533 - Forklift Operator Killed By Wire Rope And Anchor Plate

Employee #1 was backing up an Eaton-Yale 8,000 lb forklift in a rack make-up area of an auto fabrication plant and struck a wire rope cable strung approximately 7 ft high between two 40 ft columns. The anchor plate that secured the cable to the column gave way, striking the employee in the back of the head and killing him.

industrial truck, ind trk operator, wire rope, struck against, anchor, column, head, backing up, struck by

Accident: 894691 - Killed In Fall From Tv Tower

At approximately 3:15 p.m. on July 25, 1989, Employee #1 was replacing a base-mounted drum hoist, which was being used to hoist a personnel basket with a smaller hoist. Employee #1 had reeved the 3/8 in. cable from the yellow hoist to a sheave wheel at the southwest leg of a TV tower, then to a sheave wheel installed at the west side of the tower to allow the cables to deflect away from a chain link fence. The 3/8 in. cable was then run to a sheave wheel attached to a 3/4 in. diameter by 5 ft 6 in. long anchor rod. Employee #1 then carried the cable by a personnel basket to the overhead sheave wheel. After reaching the top, Employee #1 connected the 3/8 in. cable to the top of the personnel basket and then disconnected the 1/ 2 in. cable attached to the orange hoist that was being replaced. Because Employee #1 had run only one cable (the 3/8 in. load line), he had to use the 3/8 in. cable as a tag line as well as a load line. After Employee #1 had exchanged the hoists, he failed to load-test the basket and new rigging system he had just installed. The company had been cited for this violation during an earlier inspection. In using the load line as a tag line, more pressure was applied to the anchor rod as the basket descended. The rod had been installed in what appeared to be backfilled soil 95 ft west of the tower. The anchor rod was not installed at an angle between 30 to 50 degrees, according to manufacturer's recommendations. At approximately 300 to 400 ft above the ground, the anchor rod pulled out of the ground, causing the 3/8 in. cable to become slack. The personnel basket free-fell for 150 to 200 ft. The basket came to a stop when the slack ran out. The cable, under stress of approximately 1,300 lb, broke in two. The basket fell, struck one of the horizontal members approximately 100 ft above the ground, glanced off, and fell to the asphalt. Employee #1 was killed.

communication tower, hoisting mechanism, rigging, anchor, equipment failure, broken cable, fall, construction, work rules