My first workday at CityCenter—the Las Vegas Strip’s $8.6-billion mixed-use development, the country’s largest privately financed project—started last fall at the pitch- black hour of 6:30 a.m. I was nervous about my decision to shadow new construction hires during their safety training. Six workers had died on the project since 2007, sparking pickets and pressure that led to mandatory safety training. In the back of my mind was the fact that my brother-in-law, Darin, had suffered a near-fatal construction accident about a year earlier at another project and had returned to work at CityCenter. Now, months after my first day

Following its sudden collapse May 2 of a fabric-covered indoor practice facility, neither the Dallas Cowboys nor the company that designed and supplied the structure are talking about the design or the engineering of the membrane-covered structure. With lawsuits likely to follow an event that resulted in three serious injuries, the National Football League team and Summit Structures are deferring detailed questions until an Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigation is complete. OSHA routinely takes up to six months to complete accident investigations. Photo: AP Footballer Travis Bright, along with Dallas Cowboys teammates and staff, searches wreckage for trapped people

The general contractor and structural engineer involved in a November, 2006 crane collapse in Bellevue, Wash., settled a civil lawsuit with the family of the man who died when the 210-ft tower crane’s boom hit his apartment. Details of the settlement, announced April 20, were not disclosed. Carl Amundson Crane mast fell across excavation. Related Links: Stabilizing Site a Priority After Crane Topples Crane Expert Raises Safety Bar The toppled tower crane also damaged Plaza 305, an office building adjacent to the site. Matthew Ammon, a Microsoft attorney, lived across the street from the Tower 333 site, where the crane

Labor Secretary Hilda Solis has named Jordan Barab, a House Education and Labor Committee staffer, as deputy assistant secretary for the Occupational Health and Safety Administration. Barab, whose appointment was announced April 8, also will be acting head of OSHA, beginning April 13. House committee Chairman George Miller (D-Calif.) said that Barab "will bring a tremendous amount of valuable health and safety experience to an agency that has been neglected for far too long." Barab, senior policy advisor for the committee, has worked for the panel for two years on health and safety matters. He came to the House committee

Two wrongful-death lawsuits filed late last month in the New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan allege that public safety officials with New York City, employees working for crane owner James F. Lomma, site contractors and consultants knew that a Kodiak tower crane was unfit for service before it collapsed and killed two workers last May. Attorneys for the families of the victims— crane operator Donald C. Leo and Ramadan Kurtaj, a sewer technician who was working near the crane—are suing the city and other parties seeking damages.

The U.S. Dept. of Labor has proposed $201,600 in penalties against O’Neill, Neb.-based John Prouty Construction, Inc., for alleged safety violations related to a Sept. 12, 2008 trench collapse that killed four workers. The accident occurred near Verdel, Neb., and caused a chain reaction of fatalities. The four workers died after the trench collapsed and one of the workers, Travis Lunn, 24, of O’Neill, fell into the trench. Three of Lunn’s coworkers tried to rescue him and were caught in the trench. Also killed were David Peterson, 35, of O’Neill; Gary Forsch, 61, of Spencer, Neb.; and Brad Kelly, 43,

A month after fireworks ignited Beijing’s uncompleted, unoccupied Television Cultural Center (TVCC) high-rise, leaving it a charred shell, there are a number of theories about how the fire started and spread. Few are willing to speak on the record, but one developer unconnected to the project has proposed prohibiting the launching of fireworks in densely populated Beijing. Photo: AP/Wideworld TVCC shell framed by adjacent CCTV tower. Adjacent to Rem Koolhaus’s iconic China Central Television (CCTV) headquarters, the new structure burned the night of Feb. 9, the last night of the Chinese New Year’s fete. A firefighter died from smoke inhalation.

Seven lives would have been spared if William Rapetti, the master rigger in charge of the Midtown Manhattan tower crane that collapsed on March 15, 2008, had followed the manufacturer’s instructions, investigators say. A 250-page report, prepared by Arup on behalf of the city’s Dept. of Buildings and released on March 11, tells the story of how decisions made during the routine jump of a Favelle Favco M440E crane led to disaster. Rapetti, who faces civil and criminal charges, says he is not guilty. Source: New York City Dept. Of Buildings/Arup Bad rigging (below) led to death. The crew used

Nearly a month after Beijing’s uncompleted and not-yet-occupied Television Cultural Center (TVCC) highrise was ignited by fireworks, leaving it a charred shell, project members suggested new ideas about how the fire started and spread. Few are willing to speak on the record, but one developer unconnected to the project even proposed prohibiting fireworks in dense Beijing. Photo: AP/Wide world How the fireworks penetrated the building’s cladding remains unknown. Related Links: Beijing Official Says Frame Of Hotel Is Intact After Blaze Adjacent to the iconic headquarters of China Central Television (CCTV), the new structure burned the night of Monday, Feb. 9,

After six months and nearly $4 million, New York City’s Dept. of Buildings on Feb. 3 recommended 41 measures to increase regulations for crane, concrete and excavation work. But industry experts say the standards, if implemented, may create more headaches and unnecessary costs. The city assembled a team of more than 30 engineers, including experts from Skokie, Ill.-based forensic consultant CTL Group. The measures chiefly focus on crane and hoisting operations. At the top is a need “to track critical components of tower cranes,” an idea that area experts casually call “CraneFax,” referring to a similar service for cars. Photo: