Fatality Investigation Report: Media Company Grip Falls Down Empty Elevator Shaft

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Washington (State). Department of Labor and Industries
• Description:
  On the morning of July 27, 2020, a crew started filming a commercial at an unfinished nuclear power plant facility in Western Washington State. The facility was part of a site that had been turned into a multi-purpose business park with offices, training centers, and unfinished facilities that were leased out to be used as filming locations. This facility has been used by many film crews over the years due to its unique visual characteristics. Shortly after 8:00 p.m., the crew began to wrap up filming for the day. When they returned to their hotel, they realized the grip from their crew was missing. Two film crew members later discovered the grip at the bottom of an empty elevator shaft where he landed after having suffered an 86-foot fall. CONTRIBUTING FACTORS: Facility hazards not assessed and communicated to workers by employer. Inadequate guard on the elevator shaft. Low light conditions. Not following the safety buddy or check-in system. No employer policies or training for crew regarding facility hazards. Fall hazards not communicated by facility managers. RECOMMENDATIONS: Washington State Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) investigators concluded that to protect their workers and themselves from similar hazards film industry employers should: Conduct a site safety assessment (SSA) before working in any structures or environments. Enforce safe work practices to protect workers from hazards identified in an SSA Develop policies prohibiting workers from entering structures or environments before approval to enter is granted and directions are given about what to do when hazards are encountered. Train workers to identify and avoid hazardous areas and follow procedures for safely responding to hazards. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Accidental Falls Accident Prevention Accidents Accidents, Occupational Environmental Exposure Occupational Health Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Staff Development Workplace

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• Keywords:
  Accident Prevention Exposure Levels Fall Protection Falls Hazards Protective Measures Risk Factors Safety Education Safety Measures Safety Practices Training Work Environment Workers Worker Safety

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• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Publisher:
  Washington State Department of Labor and Industries
• 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:
  1-14
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20063976
• Citation:
  Olympia, WA: Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, 52-50-2021, 2021 Nov; :1-14
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2022
• Performing Organization:
  Washington State Department of Labor and Industries
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Fatality investigation report: media company grip falls down empty elevator shaft
• End Date:
  20260630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:6975683a8326538f1918227ad6a40563f94b727f4d9725ba220cf6f487882d26f513e134acd6e210efcc7a5d47384389d3803b803f66de9814039399910441ee
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/229111/cdc_229111_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 856.34 KB ]