Photo courtesy OccuNomix International LLC During cold-weather projects, it is critical to keep extremities warm by wearing warm hats, masks, socks, boots and gloves. Related Links: Fall Fashion Is Highly Visible Under New Work-Zone Rule Extreme Weather Gear What most people consider inclement weather is not always what builders, laborers and project managers consider inclement weather.The recent polar vortex that hit much of the Midwest at the start of this year brings home just how important it is to be prepared for extreme weather conditions. While even the toughest of project managers might have ceased work during the negative temperatures,
Related Links: Worker Dies at Texas A&M Kyle Field Redevelopment Project Texas A&M University Envisions 25,000 Engineering Students by 2025 The U.S. Occupational Safety & Health Administration on Dec. 19 cited two Texas contractors with eight serious violations and proposed $46,800 in fines, following the June collapse of a structure in an $80-million equestrian center under construction at Texas A&M University that injured four workers. The penalties come two weeks after a separate site accident on the College Station campus killed a 28-year-old worker employed by another contractor.OSHA cited project subcontractor Ramco Erectors Inc., Houston, with seven violations for flaws
Related Links: Kyle Field Redevelopment A 25-year-old construction worker died on Dec. 3 at Texas A&M's Kyle Field Redevelopment project. The $450-million renovation began last month and will run through 2015.Texas A&M officials identified the worker as Angel Garcia, who was working for Dallas-based Lindamood Demolition. Garcia fell from the fourth floor on the north end of Kyle Field around 11:25 a.m. He was immediately transported to St. Joseph's Regional Health Center in Bryan, Texas, where he died, the university reported in a statement released on the same day.Manhattan-Vaughn Construction is leading work on the Kyle Field Redevelopment. In a
Work has resumed on the site of a Brazilian soccer stadium where a crane fatally collapsed on Nov. 27, but a ban on crane operations is in place while the incident continues to be investigated.
A Philadelphia grand jury has charged demolition contractor Griffin Campbell with six counts of third-degree murder for his role in the city’s deadly June 5 building collapse.Campbell, owner of Campbell Construction, is accused of using improper and unsafe methods to bring down an abandoned four-story building owned by New York developer Richard Basciano to make way for a mixed-use development.An unsupported multi-story wall collapsed onto an adjacent one-story Salvation Army store, killing six and injuring 14.An investigation revealed that Campbell had not installed proper bracing on the building’s sidewalls, electing to begin the project by removing the facade and floor
AP Wideworld Two people died in a Nov. 27 accident that toppled a crawler crane and part of the Itaquerao stadium, future site of the opening of the World Cup 2014 in Brazil. Related Links: Two Years to World Cup Kickoff for Brazilian Stadiums Report: 40% of World Cup Projects Behind Schedule A leading expert on crane collapses describes a Nov. 27 accident at a World Cup soccer stadium under construction in Brazil as "highly unusual" after an initial assessment of damage photos."It is unusual because the boom snapped off the car body," says Jim Wiethorn, a forensic specialist at
Photo by AP Wideworld The popularity of narcotic painkillers has a downside and cost that some states may not fully recognize. Related Links: Tightening Up the Rules for Hydrocodone, the Favorite PainKiller The Myth of Workers' Compensation Fraud Someone forgot to send Missouri the memo about the latest research on rising costs in workers' compensation.Concerned about fraudulent claims by workers, state Senator Mike Cunningham (R) late last year sponsored a bill that would have given employers access to a free online database of compensation claims. Employers would be able to screen workers for a history of fraud, without first securing
Related Links: Following Collapse, Philadelphia Tightening Demolition Standards Link to OSHA citation for Campbell Construction Link to OSHA Citation for S&R Contracting The U.S. Labor Dept.’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued citations and proposed fines for two individuals involved in a June 5 Philadelphia building collapse, which killed six people and injured 14. Griffin Campbell, doing business as Campbell Construction, and Sean Benschop, doing business as S&R Contracting, both of Philadelphia, have 15 days to contest the citations, David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health, told reporters on Nov. 14. “If the two employers
Related Links: Narcotic Painkillers Weigh Heavily on Workers' Compensation Costs Sober, clear-headed workers can mean life or death on a construction jobsite.So last month’s recommendations from the Food and Drug Administration for more restrictions on hydrocodone-containing painkillers is good news for construction employers and workers: the FDA wants to upgrade hydrocodone’s status from a schedule 3 narcotic—the classification for low-dose codeine-containing drugs—to a schedule 2 narcotic, the category for methadone, hydromorphone, and fentanyl.The new status would reduce the number of refills allowed before checking in with a doctor. It would require patients to bring prescriptions to a pharmacy in person
Related Links: Bureau of Labor Statistics release: 2012 workplace injuries and illnesses OSHA release: proposed injury/illness data reporting requirements OSHA FAQs on proposed rule One measure of construction workplace safety improved last year, as the industry’s rate of nonfatal injuries and illnesses declined from the 2011 level, the Labor Dept.’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Nov. 7.In a related development, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration—which also is part of the Labor Dept.—announced the same day that it is proposing to require large employers in all industries to submit workplace injury and illness information electronically to it each quarter.The latest
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