Construction Fatality Narrative: Foreman Falls 17 Feet from Leading Edge of Roof Deck

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Washington (State). Department of Labor and Industries
• Description:
  A 59-year-old construction foreman died after falling from the leading edge of a roof deck. He worked for his employer, a residential and commercial property management company, for eight months. His duties included leading work crews, basic carpentry, framing, sheeting, and siding. The foreman had been at the construction site of a new single-story commercial building for almost a month. On the incident day, he was alone on top of the building constructing a plywood roof deck. He was using a personal fall arrest system (PFAS), including anchorage, lifeline, rope grab, body harness, and shock-absorbing lanyard. A framing helper was assisting from the ground by using a scissor lift to hand him tools and materials. The foreman was laying plywood sheets onto trusses that had brackets on each receiving end where the sheets would be set. He was using his heel to kick the sheets into the brackets. When he tried moving a sheet with his feet, it gave way and dropped under his weight. He fell 17 feet to the ground inside the building with the sheet landing beside him. The helper was outside the building and did not see the fall. A manager watching live-streamed job site surveillance video in the office saw the worker on the ground, had the helper check him, and called 911. He died at the hospital after six days on life-support. Following the incident, investigators found: The worker's PFAS was in excess of 50 feet for a 17-foot fall. An unnecessary second shock-absorbing lanyard was connected to the anchorage. His chest strap was not connected and the leg straps were loose. If the worker had the correct fall distance needed for his PFAS to engage and arrest his fall, it is likely his body still would have slipped out of the harness. The employer did not provide adequate fall protection training, specifically: How to evaluate the fall clearance needed in order to select, install and use an appropriate PFAS. How to engage all connectors to ensure the worker stays fully secured in the harness during a fall. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Accidental Falls Construction Industry Occupational Health Safety Staff Development
• Keywords:
  Construction Fall Protection Roof Falls Roofing Safety Equipment Training
• 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
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20068326
• Citation:
  Olympia, WA: Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, 71-244-2023, 2023 Aug; :1
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2023
• Performing Organization:
  Washington State Department of Labor and Industries
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Construction fatality narrative: foreman falls 17 feet from leading edge of roof deck
• End Date:
  20260630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:c69481061a43960fbb64b60b2fe6ed688ccb675079187852aea8375fb33278cbca549a15e55b00ee9de7d953def6192be092cc76c01a7ba32069cd48b4afd93f
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/229196/cdc_229196_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 297.09 KB ]