Crane operator Thomas L. Bales, 40, overturned his crane into a ditch near Elgin, Neb., in late May while driving to the construction site of Prairie Breeze II, a wind-energy farm Wanzek Construction is building for Invenergy, a wind-energy company. Arnold Jelinek, vice president of Fargo, S.D.-based Wanzek, confirmed the circumstances surrounding Bales' death, one of a gradually rising number of fatalities connected to wind turbines and their construction and maintenance.In a news release, Darwin Crag, acting Nebraska-area director for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, said Bales had worked for Wanzek Construction for only 10 days."Even though temporary workers
Courtest NECA/IBEW Training for communication tower rescues that require specialized skills. PBS/Propublica Coverage of the tower accidents was featured in a Public Broadcasting Service-Propublica investigation. Responding to a troubling resurgence in communications tower accidents, union electrical contractors and workers this spring made communications tower safety and rescues a focus at a second Midwest location, a training center in St. Louis.The center is jointly operated by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1, and the St. Louis chapter of the National Electrical Contractors Association. IBEW and NECA had already trained 75 journey workers in cell tower safety at a training
Photo Courtesy of Florida DOT Investigators are examining how much training was given to the driver of a load similar to the one pictured. He died while unloading a sound-wall panel. Related Links: Fatal Crash in 2013 Results in Vehicular Homicide Charges for Nashville Ready Mix and Its President Ironworker Crushed by Steel at Brooklyn's Barclays Center A fatal accident that occurred on May 14 on a Jacksonville, Fla., highway project is raising questions about training procedures and poor communication. A trucker delivering precast sound-wall sections was crushed by one of the 15,000-lb concrete elements as he unloaded his transport
Photo courtesy of JE Dunn JE Dunn Construction requires regular onsite safety briefings. The company says safety is ingrained in its culture. Related Links: Setting a Safety Precedent in a Frozen Environment Construction Managers Embrace 4D BIM for Safety What's the best way to achieve and maintain a low total recordable incident rate (TRIR)? The obvious answer is by preventing work-related injuries and illnesses from happening at all. But despite a contractor's best efforts to instill a heightened awareness among its workers, incidents still occur.The effect that an incident can have on a contractor's TRIR can loom large, particularly in
Photo by Sue Pearsall/ENR The high-profile leaders expressing care at the Safety Week kickoff event included (from left) Lend Lease's Denis Hickey, Limbach's Charlie Bacon and Gilbane's William Gilbane III. Photo by Sue Pearsall/ENR Live Safe Weeks Marine decorated one of its barges, which will be docked next to the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in Manhattan, to publicize Safety Week. The effort promotes personal safety as well as onsite safety. Related Links: Efforts for Weeklong Safety Drive Include Tour at 95 Express-Lanes Site Safety Week 2015 The grass-roots drive of industry executives to focus the nation's attention on
Related Links: Tenn. Contractor Appeals OSHA Fine, Judge Increases It Floating Batch Plant at New York's Tappan Zee Bridge Partially Collapses Nashville Ready Mix Inc., its president and two related companies face a 24-count indictment charging vehicular homicide and reckless homicide after one of the firm's trucks brakes failed, causing a fatal crash.The charges against Nashville Ready Mix Inc., Nashville Ready Mix of Clarksville LLC, Nashville Ready Mix of West Nashville LLC, and Mark Steven Meadows, president of all three, include operating a commercial vehicle without properly functioning brakes and operating a commercial vehicle that weighed 19,900 lbs over its
Related Links: Link to OSHA rule OSHA Frequently Asked Questions page A long-awaited federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration final rule for working in confined spaces on construction sites has received general support from industry and labor unions, which see the regulation as a positive development that will protect workers.The rule, which OSHA released on May 1 and published in the Federal Register on May 4, establishes new requirements for working safely in confined spaces, such as pits, sewers, crawl spaces and tanks. The rule's requirements take effect on Aug. 3.Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health David
Photo Courtesy of Oregon State University School's simulator will evaluate driver and worker actions as vehicles enter work zones. Related Links: Oregon State Y. Driving and Bicycling Simulator MDU Resources Oregon State University is boosting its research efforts in construction and transportation safety with a $1-million industry grant, announced on April 14, that will fund a state-of-the-art laboratory, featuring technology to create virtual jobsites. Making the contribution to the planned lab in the school's College of Engineering are construction-materials firm Knife River Corp. and its sister firm, MDU Construction Services Group. The lab will be named for their parent firm,
An ironworker helping install a green roof on Barclays Center in Brooklyn was killed Feb. 24 when a load of steel joists rolled off a delivery truck and crushed him, says Joe DePlasco, a spokesman for developer Greenland Forest City Partners.Peter Zepft, 52, was acting as a flagman when a delivery truck driver was unstrapping a load of steel trusses in preparation for a crane pick, officials say.The load shifted and one or more joists fell off the truck, striking Zepft, who died at the scene.DePlasco adds that Zepft was an employee of Massachusetts-based James F. Stearns Co., a steel
Photo Courtesy of Terex/Genie Aerial work platforms are expected to grow in China as contractors look for safer working methods at height. Related Links: Rentals Rising in China Overturns and Falls Lead Aerial-Work-Platform Deaths China rang in the New Year with five deadly construction related accidents that left 26 people dead and more than 50 injured. Curiously, the Chinese government last year began tightening laws and implementation systems to reduce accidental deaths in construction sites.The recent accidents included a tunnel collapse, a foundation cave-in, a roof collapse and two cases of scaffolding breaking down.A worried government issued orders on January
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