Safety & Health
Washington State Safety Officials Cite Contractor After Worker's Fatal Fall
The project where Ana Vetter was killed in a fall is due to be completed this year.
Photo courtesy of SCAFCO Steel Stud Co.
Inspectors with the Washington State Dept. of Labor & Industries found that flipper deck platforms were not used in line with the manufacturer’s specifications on a jobsite where a worker was killed in a fall earlier this year. Officials cited a contractor, SAK Builders Inc., for $16,800 in penalties over three alleged serious violations.
Ana Vetter, a 27-year-old journeyman carpenter with Carpenters Local Union 59, died as the result of injuries she suffered in the March 7 formwork collapse, according to the Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office.
As ENR previously reported, Vetter had been working for a subcontractor on a project to build a five-story hotel at Spokane Tribe Casino in Airway Heights, Wash. Work on the project was halted for two weeks after the fatal accident.
Officials issued the citation July 19, records show and Sumner, Wash.-based SAK, a concrete contractor, filed an appeal on Aug. 8 challenging the results of the inspection. The company did not immediately respond to inquiries. Neither did Swinerton Builders, the project’s general contractor, which was not cited by L&I.
State inspectors found that flipper deck platforms were not correctly sized for the cores where they were being used, according to L&I’s citation. The platforms use a partially rotating lock mechanism which sits in preformed notches to secure the working surface at different levels inside of a concrete shaft or core.
Additionally, L&I said required secondary safety pins for the platforms’ toggle locks were not installed. Pocket formers that support the flipper deck were also not left in place as required by the manufacturer, officials added.
SAK also failed to ensure the manufacturer’s safety documentation for correct use of the flipper deck system was available to on-site employees at all times, L&I officials said.
L&I assessed a penalty of $5,600 for each of the three alleged violations. Officials wrote that they believe each situation had already been corrected, but the company could face greater fines if the same violations are discovered again during future inspections.
A representative from Carpenters Local 59 declined to comment.
The project is scheduled to complete this year, according to the casino.
