Time Constraints – Fall Protection and Situational Awareness

12/28/2020

It happened a number of years ago; when Las Vegas was building casinos so fast that even the local residents couldn’t keep up with what was going to be the latest and greatest theme-related high rise on the strip. These structures are big, and contractors were getting sizable bonuses for completing their portions of the work on time and on budget.  I remember the name of the one casino that was being built where there were four fatalities during its construction ….however the name of this hotel/casino is not important as it seemed that fatalities were occurring at all the construction sites on the strip at this particular period of growth in Vegas.

I recall during the construction of one such casino when a trench was dug at the first level of what was then, the latest hotel/casino.  The purpose was to install electrical cables and supporting concrete. That meant a scaffold needed to be built on ground level as there was a six-foot drop to the below-ground construction level. Because the contractor wanted to finish their portion of the work on time, not much consideration was given with regards to all the factors that might impact the safety of persons needing to walk on the ground-level scaffold.  After all, as soon as the electrical lines were installed, concrete would cover the surface and, in a few days, the scaffold could be removed.

Near the end of one particular shift, two supervisors were walking on the scaffold, when the wood beams that were used as walking surfaces, collapsed, sending the two men to the lower level. While the fall was about six feet, what made the scenario devastating was that rebar that was placed in the lower level did not have rebar caps. The men fell. While they might have sustained minor injuries or a broken leg, the rebar penetrated the groin of one and the lower jaw, into the mouth of the other.

Both men lived and received excellent medical care and fortunately, after substantial rehabilitation, both were able to resume normal lives. 

But as fortunate as these workers were, things might not have been resulted as such. Per the Nevada State OSHA (OSHA Nuvu), an investigation was conducted to find out the root cause and contributing factors.

When Nuvu asked to speak with the scaffold competent person, the construction company could not produce such an individual. A scaffold competent person is a trained employee that inspects scaffolds for the purpose to identify existing and predictable hazards, while having the authority to take prompt corrective measures to eliminate them. 

According to the OSHA Construction regulation, 29 CFR 1926, Subpart L (Scaffolds), “…planks need to overlap each other over supports and shall be no less than 12 inches…” If this is not done, then the planks need to be nailed together so there will not be any movement. Therefore, when a person stands at the end of a plank, it will not tip. In short, scaffold platforms need to support workers. Through the investigation, it was determined that the scaffold system was not constructed properly so the wood planks were not installed for stabilization. So, when one of the workers stepped at the end of a plank, it tipped over, causing the two men to fall to the lower level.

Whether crew members were aware that a competent person did not inspect the scaffold remains unclear. And while this incident was entirely the fault of the construction company, employees could have examined the work conditions for themselves to determine whether walking on the scaffold was safe. Understand, it is not being implied that the two employees did anything that was wrong, but similar to donning PPE, if  a piece of equipment is defective, it is the affected person – the one who wears the degraded gloves or the respirator with the wrong cartridges, or; in this case, the person walking on a defective scaffold – that will suffer the consequences. Another way to emphasize this, is through the phase made popular by President Reagan, “Trust but verify!”

Through a quick examination, the workers could have observed that the wood planks were not overlapping at the required length and therefore, a tip over, was feasible. Maybe they did notice the deficiency (this remains unclear) but decided that the shortened overlap of wood planks was acceptable.  

Many organizations use color coded tags to indicate the condition of a scaffold; although this is not an OSHA regulation: These colors are:

Each scaffold needs to be checked by a competent person at the beginning of each shift and typically signs and dates a new tag (and placed at the scaffold entrance).

In addition, in this scenario, the rebar was not equipped with caps; therefore, the ends were unprotected which played a significant influence on the severity of the employee injuries.

We all have a responsibility to ourselves, our coworkers and to those that depend on us; specifically, our families, to work safely. And that means that we should never take things for granted and therefore, go the extra step to verify your work area is adequately safe and that you and your coworkers can perform the assigned tasks and return home in the same condition that one went to work….maybe a little more tired and hungry, but without any compromise to safety and health!

You should never be ashamed to admit you have been wrong. It only proves you are wiser today than yesterday

Jonathan Swift