Pipefitter dies from 40-foot fall

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Alaska Fatality Assessment & Control Evaluation Project (Alaska FACE) ; Alaska. Division of Public Health. Section of Epidemiology. Occupational Injury Prevention Program
• Description:
  A 32-year-old journeyman pipefitter was killed when he fell 40 feet from a metal roof. The pipefitter (the victim) had climbed onto the roof to direct the placement of a tool case on top of a scaffold platform. The victim was wearing a body harness with an attached lanyard but was not secured to a lifeline or the scaffold. The lift operation required a mobile crane to lift the case from one side of the building, over the roof, to the opposite side. The victim was using a two-way radio to communicate instructions to the crane operator. While the case was being lowered to the crew on the scaffold, the victim lost radio contact with the crane operator. He walked to the peak of the roof to see if he could give visual signals to the operator. As he neared the peak, the victim slipped or tripped, fell over the peak, and slid down the opposite side. The victim fell 40 feet to the ground. Co-workers immediately called for emergency assistance. The victim was transported to the site's medical facility where he died a short time later. Based on the findings of the investigation, to prevent similar occurrences, employers should: 1. Ensure that workers adhere to existing standards and procedures for the use of personal fall restraint equipment and ensure that equipment meets all safety standards before it is placed in use. 2. Ensure that workers are able to recognize and avoid hazardous situations and be able to effectively warn others of potential hazards. 3. Routinely conduct scheduled and unscheduled worksite safety inspections.
• Content Notes:
  Publication Date provided by FACE program
  
  not printed on the report.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Accident Prevention Accidents Accidents, Occupational Construction Industry Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Safety Safety Management Staff Development Workplace
• Keywords:
  Accident-analysis Accident-potential Accident-prevention Injuries Injury-prevention OSHA Region 10 Personal-protection Personal-protective-equipment Safety-education Safety-measures Safety-personnel Safety-practices Scaffolds Training Traumatic-injuries Work-analysis Work-environment Work-practices

  More +
• FACE - NIOSH and State:
  FACE ; Construction ; Falls ; Falls - Construction - Commercial
• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Subseries:
  State
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHSFACE98AK027
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Alaska ; OSHA Region 10
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  6 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20026922
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2011-100742
• Citation:
  Morgantown, WV: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, FACE 98AK027, 1999 Mar ; :1-6
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1999
• Performing Organization:
  Alaska Department of Health and Social Services
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  23 - Construction - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  1991/09/30
• End Date:
  2006/08/31
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:2f76a9e1257926332581b24d6bcab4b9eb1be8ebdc6b65e507d3f1f4677b2990a0dc2c361851cf7e0c34fea1de8227441ca33f1cb4808a79e6772f6b41c1a150
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/169097/cdc_169097_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 148.75 KB ]