Photo by Jeff Rubenstone / ENR Disruption: One of two floating concrete batch plants (above, in a September photo) at the New NY Bridge site partially collapsed on Dec. 16. Related Links: Tight Squeeze: Left Coast Lifter Clears Tappan Zee Bridge New Tappan Zee Bridge Passes Milestone With Pile Cap Installation A barge-mounted concrete batch plant at the new Tappan Zee Bridge jobsite in New York partially collapsed on Dec. 16. Project representatives reported no injuries and say project concrete placement operations have been halted until an investigation is complete.State Thruway Authority engineers and safety experts "are monitoring the situation
Related Links: Collapsed Wall at Tenn. Treatment Plant Was Defective, OSHA Says Demo Crew Member Killed at Gatlinburg, Tenn., Plant Where Two Workers Died Last Year The city of Gatlinburg, Tenn., and the company that runs its wastewater treatment plant have been dismissed from lawsuits stemming from the deaths of two workers when a wall collapsed. However, charges are proceeding against the structure's contractor and engineer and against the plant's contractor and engineer.A jury trial is scheduled for June 2015.John Eslinger, 53, lead operator, and Donald Storey, 44, operator, were killed in April 2011, when the 40-ft equalization-tank wall collapsed
photo courtesy of U.S. Africa Command The U.S. Africa Command is assisting in equipment and personnel support in West Africa. Related Links: U.S. Africa Command website World Bank Ebola Website With the deadly Ebola virus spreading in West Africa—and beyond—global industry firms are helping with relief efforts in the region and coping with impacts on projects. The outbreak, which the World Health Organization says has killed some 4,500 people in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone this year, threatens growth in the region.Earlier this month, Fluor Corp. won a $21-million task order under its U.S. Army Logistics Civil Augmentation Program (LOGCAP
Related Links: Bureau of Labor Statistics report on 2013 fatal injuries Link to further BLS fatal injury data, including previous years. New Occupational Injury and Illness Recording and Reporting RequirementsNAICS Update and Reporting Revisions The Occupational Safety and Health Administration on Sept. 11 released new final requirements that expand the types of non-fatal injuries that most companies must report to the agency.Under the new severe-injuries-and-illness reporting requirements, which take effect Jan. 1, employers must notify OSHA within eight hours after a worker is killed on the job and within 24 hours after a worker suffers a work-related hospitalization, amputation or
Structural collapse of a large home in an upscale Johannesburg, South Africa development that killed seven now is under investigation. Officials cite lack of site safety supervision. South African safety officials say the probe into the Aug. 18 collapse of a large home under renovation near Johannesburg that killed seven workers, including the site manager, won't be complete until November, but critics point to a continuing lack of site supervision on projects.The country's Dept. of Labor has set up an inquiry into the collapse at the upscale Meyersdal Eco-Estate, a housing development located in a nature reserve.Initial reports from survivors,
Photo by AP Wide World New criminal charges were filed against PG&E in the 2010 San Bruno pipeline fire that killed eight people. Related Links: July 29 Superseding Indictment Announcement and Link to Document April 1: U.S. Indicts PG&E on 12 Criminal Counts in Fatal 2010 California Blast San Bruno Fire May Cost California Utility More Than $4 Billion Pacific Gas & Electric could be facing new penalties of more than $1 billion when it appears in a U.S. federal court in San Francisco on Aug. 18 to address charges under a July 29 indictment that more than doubles the
Related Links: Windy St. Jude's Day Storm Fells London Tower Cranes Warning Signs Were Ignored in Fatal NYC Crawler-Crane Accident Investigators are trying to determine why a crane collapsed at the site of a South Florida residential construction project, killing a construction worker and damaging a neighboring house. Christopher J. Ricci, 27, of Sunrise, Fla., was struck by the crane's boom and died instantly in the June 12 accident, a police spokeswoman says.DLS Prestressed Inc., Pompano Beach, Fla., was using the lattice-boom truck crane, which was riding on rubber tires, to install piling for construction of a two-story, single-family home
Related Links: Pemex to Go for FPSO to Develop Ayatsil-Tekel in Gulf of Mexico Mexican officials are investigating an accident earlier this month at a fabrication yard owned by a joint venture of Fluor Corp. and Empresas ICA, S.A.B. de C.V. that caused workers working in a man-basket to fall 130 ft to the ground, killing five instantly. Two others later died from their injuries.The firms also confirmed that one worker is in serious condition after the June 11 accident at the Matarredonda facility in Veracruz state.ICA-Fluor’s work there is part of its $95-million contract, awarded in 2012, to build
By the end of June, Nigerians will know what caused the June 2 collapse of a four-story building that killed four construction workers in the city of Onitsha, 482 kilometers from the capital, Abuja.The Anglican Church of Nigeria was constructing the building. The church's Niger diocese and the government of Anambra state have set up parallel teams to probe the collapse. Construction experts have blamed several factors, including contractor incompetence and non-compliance to project specifications and standards. The building is suspected to have been initially approved for just two stories. Unconfirmed reports also suggest that, before the collapse, too little
Photo courtesy of AGC of America Workers get a briefing on fall-protection equipment during a safety "stand-down" at a Washington, D.C., job site. Related Links: OSHA safety 'stand-down' Web page The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration and construction industry and union groups are teaming up to raise awareness about jobsite protection against falls from height, the leading cause of construction fatalities.OSHA has launched a program of “Safety Stand-Downs,” to take place during the week of June 2-6, in which companies halt work on projects around the U.S., to get briefings and reminders about proper equipment and jobsite steps recommended