Abstract

On a fall Wednesday afternoon at 3:00 pm, a 53-year-old male fabrication and finishing foreman was installing sheets of insulation prior to decking on a commercial building. The foreman was standing at the edge of the decking on roof beams, arguing with an excavation contractor about the movement of his loader to complete grading work. Witnesses say the foreman was distracted when he told the other workers to spread the “itchy” (meaning rolls of fiberglass insulation). When the foreman took a step forward as he usually did, he fell off the edge and died of head and neck injuries.

To prevent future occurrences of similar incidents, the following recommendations have been made:

Recommendation No.1: Employers should always ensure employees have access to tie off when working in high areas allowing employees to remain tied off at all times.

Recommendation No. 2: General Contractors should coordinate and stagger various subcontractors’ work to prevent creation of additional hazards, conflict and obstruction.

Recommendation No. 3: Employers should be sure safety training is given to each new hire prior to working.

Recommendation No. 4: Employers should implement and enforce a written safety policy which states the consequences of not following their personal fall arrest policy.

Recommendation No. 5: General contractors should ensure through contract language that all subcontractors implement and enforce appropriate safety and health programs and training specific to the work to be performed.

Document Type

Report

Release Date

2-10-2014

Incident Number

13KY042

Notes/Citation Information

A summary of this case is available as the additional file listed below.

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Summary-13KY042.pdf (127 kB)
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