Photo Courtesy of Terex Corp. Though ASME P30 may not define a critical lift, it will lay out considerations, such as potential property damage or public risk. Related Links: Were Dallas Crane Bolts Loosened Too Early? Judge Acquits NYC Crane Owner It may be hard to believe, but no industry standard or regulation exists for how to plan a lift. Whether crews are using a 10-ton crane to pick up pipe or a 1,000-ton rig to hoist a pressure vessel, contractors mainly figure out how to do it safely with no industry input. An ASME P30 document could change all
Photo courtesy of Alistair Gibb Alistair Gibb, professor of complex project management at Loughborough University in England, talked about safety at the London Olympics at a Construction Industry Institute meeting in Baltimore. Photo courtesy of Alistair Gibb The mission statement of the London Olympics construction program included a commitment to safety. Related Links: London Olympic Committee Holds the Line on Costs 2012 Games Are Stepping Stones in Grand Scheme As the Olympic torch arrived to light the cauldron at Olympic Stadium on July 27, it was greeted by an honor guard of 500 hardhat-wearing construction workers, many of whom had
Related Links: Questions Raised About Crane Disassembly Process See the Dallas Morning News Story Bolts removed from a tower crane being disassembled may have led to a fatal crash at the University of Texas at Dallas, according to safety experts. The accident occurred at the $60-million Arts and Technology Building on July 7, killing two workers. Officials with the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration are investigating.Photos published in local news reports show the tower lying across the building that was under construction, with two tower sections separated. At the time of the collapse, the jib already had been removed
Related Links: Time line of OSHA actions related to 2005 BP refinery explosion OSHA Slaps BP With Record Fine For Not Fixing Blast Hazards (ENR 11/4/09) Energy giant BP has agreed to pay an additional $13 million to settle more than 400 U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration citations for alleged willful safety violations at the company’s Texas City, Texas, refinery.The agreement, announced on July 12, is the latest development in the wake of a March 2005 explosion at the refinery that killed 15 workers—all of whom worked for Jacobs Engineering Group and Fluor Corp., contractors at the facility at
Related Links: Arizona Workers Are Old Pros At Sweating In The Southwest Hot or Cold, Weather Plays a Big Role In Job Productivity A heat wave over much of the U.S. last week claimed a construction worker near Tucson—a stark reminder of the danger heat poses to those in the building trades. Mark Geise, 44, died of apparent heat-related illness while constructing a propane filling station at a Costco store. A resident of Indiana, Geise was employed by Seese Construction, Monrovia, Ind., according to his obituary.The Marana Police Dept. and OSHA are investigating. It was the third heat-related death of
Courtesy of the Southern Nevada Water Authority Dwindling Lake Mead is site of $526-million intake tunnel project to boost water supply. Courtesy of the Southern Nevada Water Authority The fatal accident occurred in post-TBM grout work. Related Links: Third Lake Mead Intake Tunnel Tough Job for Water Authority Big Drop in Lake Mead Level Curbs Hoover Water, Power A construction accident at the four-year-old raw-water intake project at southern Nevada's Lake Mead, now a $526.6-million job, claimed its first fatality on June 11, when Thomas A. Turner, a union laborer and operating engineer, was struck in the head by a
AP Fatal collapse in New York City killed two workers at a jobsite. Competing claims of prosecutorial overreach and reckless disregard for human life left no middle ground in the final arguments in New York City equipment executive James Lomma's criminal trial. Defense attorneys and prosecutors traded heated allegations in closing statements on April 19 and 20. The case is linked to the fatal 2008 collapse of a tower crane Lomma rented to a high-rise jobsite.Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Daniel Conviser said he would deliver a verdict on April 26. The defense had requested a bench, or non-jury, trial.The owner of
Richard Korman/ENR Maria Leo, right, mother of crane operator Donald Leo, who died in the 2008 tower crane accident, and attorney Bernadette Panzella, criticize acquittal of crane owner James Lomma outside Manhattan courtroom. Richard Korman/ENR James Lomma, left, leaving the defense table minutes after his acquittal in state court in Manhattan on manslaughter charges. Related Links: Acquittals in Ground Zero Fire Trial Acquitted Master Rigger Seeks Return of License Lomma Employee Plea Deal 2010 Tudor Van Hampton Blog on Lomma Case In six terse sentences following two months of testimony and technical detail, a state court judge in Manhattan cleared
Related Links: Results of AGC safety survey DOT Secretary LaHood's blog on work zone safety More than two-thirds of highway contractors responding to a new Associated General Contractors of America survey say that motor vehicles crashed into their work zones over the past 12 months and almost one-fifth reported construction-worker fatalities in those accidents.AGC released the survey on April 23, near the start of National Work Zone Awareness Week, a joint industry-government effort to put a spotlight on the dangers on highway job sites and reduce fatalities and injuries.There has been progress. According to U.S. Dept. of Transportation statistics, there
Related Links: Building Sequence Probed at Cincinnati Casino Collapse Six contractors building Cincinnati's $400-million Horseshoe Casino did not take steps to ensure the building was stable before pouring a concrete floor atop the steel-framed structure, according to U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration citations issued earlier this month. The probe calls into question the roles, responsibilities and inspection procedures of the trades working on the project.The building is a straightforward design, with beam-to-column double connections. "I think the lesson to be learned is that every structure is unique, and every structure needs new consideration for safety," says Jeffrey L. Garrett,
RSS
