Fatality Narrative: Carpenter Struck by Falling H-Beam

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Washington (State). Department of Labor and Industries
• Description:
  On November 13, 2006, a carpenter died after being struck by a falling steel beam. The 59-year-old victim, a Carpenters union member, had about 30 years experience in the construction industry and had been with his current employer for 2 1/2 weeks. The victim's employer was a construction company hired by the county to build underground tunnels to transport sewage as part of a wastewater treatment system. The victim was working with a crane operator, and two carpenters serving as riggers and signal persons, constructing a sound barrier wall that would encircle the construction site. The sound wall consisted of 40-foot-long, 1,400 lb. H-beams that were sunk 15 feet into the ground to serve as pilings for the support of wooden panels. The victim was preparing a welding torch for burning a hole in the piling once it was set so that braces could be attached to the piling. He was working about 10 feet from where the horizontal beam was laying prior to being lifted by a 50-ton mobile crane and placed vertically in the hole were it was to be set. The rigging for the beam/piling lift consisted of a locking lifting clamp attached to a 12-foot polyester lifting sling which was attached to the crane's hook. The rigger/signal person attached the clamp to the web of the beam and signaled the crane operator to begin the lift. As the beam was being lifted from its horizontal to vertical position it swung to the side and began to twist, causing the clamp to be side-loaded. The beam slipped out of the clamp and fell about 30 feet, striking the victim. He was transported to a hospital where he died. An investigation determined that the victim, while not directly under the load, was in its swing radius; the clamp was not centered on the beam's web; mud on the clamp's cam and pad may have contributed to side loading the clamp; and the rigger/signal person was inexperienced. Description provided by NIOSH
• Subjects:
  • Accident Prevention
  • Accidents
  • Accidents, Occupational
  • Construction Industry
  • Education
  • Mortality
  • Occupational Health
  • Personal Protective Equipment
  • Safety
  • Staff Development
  More +
• Keywords:
  • Workers
  • Work environment
  • Cranes
  • Falling objects
  • Work zone
  • Equipment maintenance
  • Equipment reliability
  • Equipment operation
  • Equipment operators
  • Construction equipment
  More +
• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Report
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 10 ; Washington
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20051719
• Citation:
  Olympia, WA: Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, 71-63-2007, 2007 Nov; :1
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2008
• NORA Priority Area:
  Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
• Performing Organization:
  Washington State Department of Labor and Industries
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Fatality narrative: carpenter struck by falling H-beam
• End Date:
  20260630
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/228810/cdc_228810_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 59.84 KB]
• Collection(s):
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Program ; National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:725e56a30170341d5afb645dafaf896959c9c248542bed9a81fd08ffc440925d276319aaff54dbde63cbb0128ca30b2f15aa76f246157cb61dd2849ff3734972